Decentralized Abstractions and Timed Constrained Planning of a General Class of Coupled Multi-Agent Systems

This paper presents a fully automated procedure for controller synthesis for a general class of multi-agent systems under coupling constraints. Each agent is modeled with dynamics consisting of two terms: the first one models the coupling constraints and the other one is an additional bounded control input. We aim to design these inputs so that each agent meets an individual high-level specification given as a Metric Interval Temporal Logic (MITL). Furthermore, the connectivity of the initially connected agents, is required to be maintained. First, assuming a polyhedral partition of the workspace, a novel decentralized abstraction that provides controllers for each agent that guarantee the transition between different regions is designed. The controllers are the solution of a Robust Optimal Control Problem (ROCP) for each agent. Second, by utilizing techniques from formal verification, an algorithm that computes the individual runs which provably satisfy the high-level tasks is provided. Finally, simulation results conducted in MATLAB environment verify the performance of the proposed framework

Sound and Automated Synthesis of Digital Stabilizing Controllers for Continuous Plants

Modern control is implemented with digital microcontrollers, embedded within a dynamical plant that represents physical components. We present a new algorithm based on counter-example guided inductive synthesis that automates the design of digital controllers that are correct by construction. The synthesis result is sound with respect to the complete range of approximations, including time discretization, quantization effects, and finite-precision arithmetic and its rounding errors. We have implemented our new algorithm in a tool called DSSynth, and are able to automatically generate stable controllers for a set of intricate plant models taken from the literature within minutes.Comment: 10 page

Non-fragile H∞ control with randomly occurring gain variations, distributed delays and channel fadings

This study is concerned with the non-fragile H∞ control problem for a class of discrete-time systems subject to randomly occurring gain variations (ROGVs), channel fadings and infinite-distributed delays. A new stochastic phenomenon (ROGVs), which is governed by a sequence of random variables with a certain probabilistic distribution, is put forward to better reflect the reality of the randomly occurring fluctuation of controller gains implemented in networked environments. A modified stochastic Rice fading model is then exploited to account for both channel fadings and random time-delays in a unified representation. The channel coefficients are a set of mutually independent random variables which abide by any (not necessarily Gaussian) probability density function on [0, 1]. Attention is focused on the analysis and design of a non-fragile H∞ outputfeedback controller such that the closed-loop control system is stochastically stable with a prescribed H∞ performance. Through intensive stochastic analysis, sufficient conditions are established for the desired stochastic stability and H∞ disturbance attenuation, and the addressed non-fragile control problem is then recast as a convex optimisation problem solvable via the semidefinite programme method. An example is finally provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed design method

Quantitative multi-objective verification for probabilistic systems

We present a verification framework for analysing multiple quantitative objectives of systems that exhibit both nondeterministic and stochastic behaviour. These systems are modelled as probabilistic automata, enriched with cost or reward structures that capture, for example, energy usage or performance metrics. Quantitative properties of these models are expressed in a specification language that incorporates probabilistic safety and liveness properties, expected total cost or reward, and supports multiple objectives of these types. We propose and implement an efficient verification framework for such properties and then present two distinct applications of it: firstly, controller synthesis subject to multiple quantitative objectives; and, secondly, quantitative compositional verification. The practical applicability of both approaches is illustrated with experimental results from several large case studies