Applications of a Regulator Theory for Discrete-Event Dynamic Systems

Abstract

As the work on the control of Discrete Event Dynamic Systems (DEDS) matures, the need for concrete applications of DEDS theory, that could direct our research efforts and emphasize the importance of the work in this field, becomes more clear. In fact, the consensus at recent DEDS sessions of various conferences has been the need for such applications. This paper introduces two applications, one on the verification and synthesis of sequential circuits and the other on the control of flexible manufacturing systems, illustrating our work on the multi-level control of DEDS. The flexible manufacturing system example is a model of the floor of of a board manufacturing plant which consists of multiple workstations. The set of tasks expected to be performed by each workstation are characterized by sets of strings of events, and the coordination of the workstations through these sets of tasks is addressed. The sequential circuit example consists of a two-port memory system which is controlled by multiple state machines which communicate through shared events. Desired memory operations are analyzed and a controller is constructed using a multilevel approach.