The infimal prefix-closed and observable superlanguange of a given language

The supervisory control of discrete-event systems under partial observation is examined. In particular, the condition of observability needed to solve the two main existing problems is investigated. A fixed-point characterization of observability is given and is shown to yield an effective test for observability where the system under consideration is specified by regular languages. A formula for the infimal prefix-closed observable superlanguage of a given language is presented. Where the system is specified by regular languages, the formula for the infimal observable language is effectively computable.     

Coinduction in Control of Partially Observed Discrete-Event Systems

Coalgebra and coinduction provide new results and insights for the supervisory control of discrete-event systems (DES) with partial observations. In the case of full observations, coinduction has been used to define a new operation on languages called supervised product, which represents the tuple of languages of the supervised system. The first language acts as a supervisor and the second as an open-loop system (plant). We show first that the supervised product is equal to the infimal controllable superlanguage of the supervisor's (specification) language with respect to the plant language. This can be generalized to the partial observation case, where the supervised product is shown to be equal to the infimal controllable and observable superlanguage. A modification on the supervised product is presented, which corresponds to the control policy for with the issue of observability is separated from the issue of controllability. The operation defined by coinduction is shown to be equal to the infimal observable superlanguage.     

Supervisory control of discrete-event systems with output: Application to hybrid systems

In this paper, the problem of supervisory control of discrete-event systems (DES) with output is presented and discussed at length. In such systems, causal output maps are employed to assign to each sequence of input events a corresponding sequence of output events. When the specification of desired behaviour is given by a formal language over the output alphabet, necessary and sufficient conditions are derived for the existence of non-blocking input as well as non-blocking output supervisory control. After making minor adjustments the theory is applied to non-deterministic discrete-event abstractions of hybrid systems, giving rise to the development of a theory for non-blocking supervisory control of hybrid systems. Our results enable one to apply classical supervisory control theory to design supervisors for DES approximations of hybrid systems, and to import many interesting concepts from classical theory such as modular and hierarchical control.     

Observability and decentralized control of fuzzy discrete-event systems

Fuzzy discrete-event systems as a generalization of (crisp) discrete-event systems have been introduced in order that it is possible to effectively represent uncertainty, imprecision, and vagueness arising from the dynamic of systems. A fuzzy discrete-event system has been modeled by a fuzzy automaton; its behavior is described in terms of the fuzzy language generated by the automaton. In this paper, we are concerned with the supervisory control problem for fuzzy discrete-event systems with partial observation. Observability, normality, and co-observability of crisp languages are extended to fuzzy languages. It is shown that the observability, together with controllability, of the desired fuzzy language is a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of a partially observable fuzzy supervisor. When a decentralized solution is desired, it is proved that there exist local fuzzy supervisors if and only if the fuzzy language to be synthesized is controllable and co-observable. Moreover, the infimal controllable and observable fuzzy superlanguage, and the supremal controllable and normal fuzzy sublanguage are also discussed. Simple examples are provided to illustrate the theoretical development.     

Supervisory control of switching control systems

In this paper, the problem of designing a switching policy for an adaptive switching control system is formulated as a problem of supervisory control of a discrete-event system (DES). Two important problems in switching control are then addressed using the DES formulation and the theory of supervisory control under partial observation. First, it is verified whether for a given set of controllers, a switching policy satisfying a given set of constraints on the transitions among controllers exists. If so, then a minimally restrictive switching policy is designed. Next, an iterative algorithm is introduced for finding a minimal set of controllers for which a switching policy satisfying the switching constraints exists. It is shown that in the supervisory control problem considered in this paper, limitations on event observation are the factors that essentially restrict supervisory control. In other words, once observation limitations are respected, limitations on control will be automatically satisfied. This result is used to simplify the proposed iterative algorithm for finding minimal controller sets.     

Characterizations and effective computation of supremal relatively observable sublanguages

Recently we proposed relative observability for supervisory control of discrete-event systems under partial observation. Relative observability is closed under set unions and hence there exists the supremal relatively observable sublanguage of a given language. In this paper we present a new characterization of relative observability, based on which an operator on languages is proposed whose largest fixpoint is the supremal relatively observable sublanguage. Iteratively applying this operator yields a monotone sequence of languages; exploiting the linguistic concept of support based on Nerode equivalence, we prove for regular languages that the sequence converges finitely to the supremal relatively observable sublanguage, and the operator is effectively computable. Moreover, for the purpose of control, we propose a second operator that in the regular case computes the supremal relatively observable and controllable sublanguage.     

Generalized language measure families of probabilistic finite state systems

The signed real measure of regular languages has been introduced and validated in recent literature for quantitative analysis of discrete-event systems. This paper reports generalizations of the language measure, which can serve as performance indices for synthesis of optimal discrete-event supervisory decision and control laws. These generalizations eliminate a user-selectable parameter in the original concept of language measure. The concepts are illustrated with simple examples.     

Supervisor localisation for large-scale discrete-event systems under partial observation

ABSTRACT

Recently we developed partial-observation supervisor localisation, a top-down approach to distributed control of discrete-event systems (DES) under partial observation. Its essence is the decomposition of the partial-observation monolithic supervisor into partial-observation local controllers for individual controllable events. In this paper, we extend the partial-observation supervisor localisation to large-scale DES, for which the monolithic supervisor may be incomputable. Specifically, we first employ an efficient heterarchical supervisor synthesis procedure to compute a heterarchical array of partial-observation decentralised supervisors and partial-observation coordinators. Then, we localise each of these supervisors/coordinators into partial-observation local controllers. This procedure suggests a systematic approach to the distributed control of large-scale DES under partial observation. The results are illustrated by a system of automatic guided vehicles serving a manufacturing workcell.     

Synthesis of supervisory controllers for hybrid systems based onapproximating automata

The paper concerns the synthesis of supervisory controllers for a class of continuous-time hybrid systems with discrete-valued input signals that select differential inclusions for continuous-valued state trajectories and event-valued output signals generated by threshold crossings in the continuous state space, the supervisor is allowed to switch the input signal value when threshold events are observed. The objective is to synthesize a nonblocking supervisor such that the set of possible sequences of control and threshold event pairs for the closed-loop system lies between given upper and lower bounds in the sense of set containment. We show how this problem can be converted into a supervisor synthesis problem for a standard controlled discrete-event system (DES). A finite representation may not exist for the exact DES model of the hybrid system, however. To circumvent this difficulty, we present an algorithm for constructing finite-state Muller automata that accept outer approximations to the exact controlled threshold-event language, and we demonstrate that supervisors that solve the synthesis problem for the approximating automata achieve the control specifications when applied to the original hybrid system     

Polynomial synthesis of supervisor for partially observed discrete-event systems by allowing nondeterminism in control

We study the supervisory control of discrete-event systems (DESs) under partial observation using nondeterministic supervisors. We formally define a nondeterministic control policy and also a control & observation compatible nondeterministic state machine and prove their equivalence. The control action of a nondeterministic supervisor is chosen online, nondeterministically from among a set of choices determined offline. Also, the control action can be changed online nondeterministically (prior to any new observation) in accordance with choices determined offline. The online choices, once made, can be used to affect the set of control action choices in future. We show that when control is exercised using a nondeterministic supervisor, the specification language is required to satisfy a weaker notion of observability, which we define in terms of recognizability and achievability. Achievability serves as necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of a nondeterministic supervisor, and it is weaker than controllability and observability combined. When all events are controllable, achievability reduces to recognizability. We show that both existence, and synthesis of nondeterministic supervisors can be determined polynomially. (For deterministic supervisors, only existence can be determined polynomially.) Both achievability and recognizability are preserved under union, and also under intersection (when restricted over prefix-closed languages). Using the intersection closure property we derive a necessary and sufficient condition for the range control problem for the prefix-closed case. Unlike the deterministic supervisory setting where the complexity of existence is exponential, our existence condition is polynomially verifiable, and also a supervisor can be polynomially synthesized.     

Relative coobservability for decentralised supervisory control of discrete-event systems

In this paper, we study the concept of relative coobservability in decentralised supervisory control of discrete-event systems under partial observation. This extends our previous work on relative observability from a centralised setup to a decentralised one. A fundamental concept in decentralised supervisory control is coobservability (and its several variations); this property is not, however, closed under set union, and hence there generally does not exist the supremal element. Our proposed relative coobservability, although stronger than coobservability, is algebraically well behaved, and the supremal relatively coobservable sublanguage of a given language exists. We present a language-based algorithm to compute this supremal sublanguage; the algorithm allows straightforward implementation using off-the-shelf algorithms. Moreover, relative coobservability is weaker than conormality, which is also closed under set union; unlike conormality, relative coobservability imposes no constraint on disabling unobservable controllable events.     

Robust and nonblocking supervisory control of nondeterministicdiscrete event systems using trajectory models

This note considers the robust supervisory control problems of uncertain nondeterministic discrete-event systems (DESs). The uncertain DES to be controlled is assumed to be modeled as a set of some possible nondeterministic automata. Then, the control objective is to achieve a given language specification and guarantee the nonblockingness of any nondeterministic automata of the set which are controlled by a robust nonblocking supervisor. Based on trajectory models, this note presents the necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a robust nonblocking supervisor for a given uncertain nondeterministic DES     

On the supremal controllable sublanguage in the discrete-eventmodel of nondeterministic hybrid control systems

This paper is concerned with the logical control of hybrid control systems (HCS). It is assumed that a discrete-event system (DES) plant model has already been extracted from the continuous-time plant. The problem of hybrid control system design can then be solved by applying logical DES controller synthesis techniques to the extracted DES plant. Traditional DES synthesis methods, however, are not always applicable since the extracted plant DES will often exhibit nondeterministic transitions. This paper presents an extension of certain DES controller synthesis techniques to the nondeterministic control automaton found in HCS. In particular, this paper derives a formula computing the supremal controllable sublanguage of a given specification language under the assumption that the DES plant exhibits nondeterministic transitions     

Fault-tolerant supervisory control under C,D observability and its application

In this paper, a discrete-event dynamical system (DEDS) approach is employed to build a fault-tolerant system under partial observation with some diagnostic schemes. We address the issue of detectability for state identification and observability for achievable legal languages in DEDSs. Especially, we introduce C, D-observability conditions to determine the observability in view of supervisor synthesis. Based upon these, we study the diagnostic problems and the construction of fault-tolerant supervisory control systems with partial observations through the behavioural analysis upon a discrete-event model. A case study of a plasma etching system is described to illustrate the proposed approach.     

Multitasking Supervisory Control of Discrete-Event Systems

This paper presents an approach for functionally dealing with multiple tasks in the supervisory control of discrete-event systems (DES). The colored marking generator (CMG), a special type of Moore automaton, is introduced as a model that distinguishes classes of tasks in DES. The main results of supervisory control theory are extended to this model, allowing the synthesis of minimally restrictive supervisors, which respect the safety specifications and ensure coreachability of multiple control objectives. Reversibility is also investigated as an alternative way of ensuring liveness of multiple tasks. Two examples illustrate the convenience of this approach.     

Discrete-event systems subject to unknown sensor attacks

Discrete Event Dynamic Systems - This work is set in the context of supervisory control of discrete-event systems under partial observation. Attackers that are able to insert or erase occurrences...     

On computation of supremal controllable, normal sublanguages

In this paper, we present an algorithm for the computation of the controllable, normal sublanguage of a given language, encountered in the solution of the supervisory control of discrete-event systems under partial observation. The algorithm produces the desired result under certain assumptions on the plant and the event projection map. In particular, the plant has to be nonblocking. The advantage of the algorithm over the solution available in the literature is that it does not involve iterations on the supremal controllable sublanguage and supremal normal sublanguage operators.     

Signed real measure of regular languages for discrete-event automata

This paper presents the concept and formulation of a signed real measure of regular languages for analysis of discrete-event supervisory control systems. The measure is constructed based upon the principles of language theory and real analysis for quantitative evaluation and comparison of the controlled behaviour for discrete-event automata. The marked (i.e. accepted) states of finite-state automata are classified in different categories such that the event strings terminating at good and bad marked states have positive and negative measures, respectively. In this setting, a controlled language attempts to disable as many bad strings as possible and as few good strings as possible. Different supervisors may achieve this goal in different ways and generate a partially ordered set of controlled languages. The language measure creates a total ordering on the performance of the controlled languages, which provides a precise quantitative comparison of the controlled plant behaviour under different supervisors. Total variation of the language measure serves as a metric for the space of sublanguages of the regular language.     

Solvability of Centralized Supervisory Control Under Partial Observation

The problem of synthesizing a nontrivial controllable and observable sublanguage of a given non-prefix-closed language is addressed. This problem arises in supervisory control of discrete-event systems, when the objective is to synthesize safe nonblocking supervisors for partially observed systems. The decentralized version of this problem is known to be unsolvable. We show that the centralized version of this problem is solvable by presenting a new algorithm that synthesizes a nontrivial controllable and observable sublanguage of the given non-prefix-closed language, if one exists. We also show that the union of all nonblocking solutions to the associated supervisory control problem can be expressed as the union of all regular nonblocking solutions. This work was done when the first author was at the University of Michigan as a Ph.D. student.