Efficient Symbolic Supervisory Synthesis and Guard Generation: Evaluating partitioning techniques for the state-space exploration

The supervisory control theory (SCT) is a model-based framework, which automatically synthesizes a supervisor that restricts a plant to be controlled based on specifications to be fulfilled. Two main problems, typically encountered in industrial applications, prevent SCT from having a major breakthrough. First, the supervisor which is synthesized automatically from the given plant and specification models might be incomprehensible to the users. To tackle this problem, an approach was recently presented to extract compact propositional formulae (guards) from the supervisor, represented symbolically by binary decision diagrams (BDD). These guards are then attached to the original models, which results in a modular and comprehensible representation of the supervisor. However, this approach, which computes the supervisor symbolically in the conjunctive way, might lead to another problem: the state-space explosion, because of the large number of intermediate BDD nodes during computation. To alleviate this problem, we introduce in this paper an alternative approach that is based on the disjunctive partitioning technique, including a set of selection heuristics. Then this approach is adapted to the guard generation procedure. Finally, the efficiency of the presented approach is demonstrated on a set of benchmark examples

Modeling sequential resource allocation systems using Extended Finite Automata

Deadlock avoidance for resource allocation systems (RAS) is a well-established problem in the Discrete Event System (DES) literature. This paper is mainly concerned with modeling the class of Conjunctive / Disjunctive sequential resource allocation systems (C/D RAS) as finite automata extended with variables. The proposed modeling approach allows for modeling multiple instance execution, routing flexibility and failure handling. With an appropriate model of the system, a symbolic approach is then used to synthesize the optimal supervisor, in the least restrictive sense. Furthermore, a set of compact logical formulae can be extracted and attached to the original model, which results in a modular and comprehensible representation of the supervisor

Big Data in Critical Infrastructures Security Monitoring: Challenges and Opportunities

Critical Infrastructures (CIs), such as smart power grids, transport systems, and financial infrastructures, are more and more vulnerable to cyber threats, due to the adoption of commodity computing facilities. Despite the use of several monitoring tools, recent attacks have proven that current defensive mechanisms for CIs are not effective enough against most advanced threats. In this paper we explore the idea of a framework leveraging multiple data sources to improve protection capabilities of CIs. Challenges and opportunities are discussed along three main research directions: i) use of distinct and heterogeneous data sources, ii) monitoring with adaptive granularity, and iii) attack modeling and runtime combination of multiple data analysis techniques.Comment: EDCC-2014, BIG4CIP-201

Controller synthesis for parameterized discrete event systems

Les systèmes à événements discrets sont des systèmes dynamiques particuliers. Ils changent d’état de fa¸con discrète et le terme événement est utilisé afin de représenter l’occurrence de changements discontinus. Ces systèmes sont principalement construits par l’homme et on les retrouve surtout dans les secteurs manufacturier, de la circu- lation automobile, des bases de données et des protocoles de communication. Cette thèse s’intéresse au contrôle des systèmes paramétrés à événements discrets où les spécifications sont exprimées à l’aide de prédicats et satisfont une condition de similarité. Des conditions sont données afin de déduire des propriétés, en observation partielle ou totale, pour un système composé de n processus similaires à partir d’un système com- posé de n0 processus, avec n ≥ n0. De plus, il est montré comment inférer des politiques de contrôle en présence de relations d’interconnexion entre les processus. Cette étude est principalement motivée par la faiblesse des méthodes actuelles de synthèse pour le traitement des problèmes industriels de taille réelle.Discrete event systems are a special type of dynamic systems. The state of these systems changes only at discrete instants of time and the term event is used to represent the occurrence of discontinuous changes. These systems are mostly man-made and arise in the domains of manufacturing systems, traffic systems, database management systems and communication protocols. This thesis investigates the control of parameterized discrete event systems when specifications are given in terms of predicates and satisfy a similarity assumption. For systems consisting of similar processes under total or partial observation, conditions are given to deduce properties of a system of n processes from properties of a system of n0 processes, with n ≥ n0. Furthermore, it is shown how to infer a control policy for the former from the latter’s, while taking into account interconnections between processes. This study is motivated by a weakness in current synthesis methods that do not scale well to huge systems

On Formal Methods for Large-Scale Product Configuration

<p>In product development companies mass customization is widely used to achieve better customer satisfaction while keeping costs down. To efficiently implement mass customization, product platforms are often used. A product platform allows building a wide range of products from a set of predefined components. The process of matching these components to customers' needs is called product configuration. Not all components can be combined with each other due to restrictions of various kinds, for example, geometrical, marketing and legal reasons. Product design engineers develop configuration constraints to describe such restrictions. The number of constraints and the complexity of the relations between them are immense for complex product like a vehicle. Thus, it is both error-prone and time consuming to analyze, author and verify the constraints manually. Software tools based on formal methods can help engineers to avoid making errors when working with configuration constraints, thus design a correct product faster.</p> <p>This thesis introduces a number of formal methods to help engineers maintain, verify and analyze product configuration constraints. These methods provide automatic verification of constraints and computational support for analyzing and refactoring constraints. The methods also allow verifying the correctness of one specific type of constraints, item usage rules, for sets of mutually-exclusive required items, and automatic verification of equivalence of different formulations of the constraints. The thesis also introduces three methods for efficient enumeration of valid partial configurations, with benchmarking of the methods on an industrial dataset.</p> <p>Handling large-scale industrial product configuration problems demands high efficiency from the software methods. This thesis investigates a number of search-based and knowledge-compilation-based methods for working with large product configuration instances, including Boolean satisfiability solvers, binary decision diagrams and decomposable negation normal form. This thesis also proposes a novel method based on supervisory control theory for efficient reasoning about product configuration data. The methods were implemented in a tool, to investigate the applicability of the methods for handling large product configuration problems. It was found that search-based Boolean satisfiability solvers with incremental capabilities are well suited for industrial configuration problems.</p> <p>The methods proposed in this thesis exhibit good performance on practical configuration problems, and have a potential to be implemented in industry to support product design engineers in creating and maintaining configuration constraints, and speed up the development of product platforms and new products.</p

Specifications and programs for computer software validation

Three software products developed during the study are reported and include: (1) FORTRAN Automatic Code Evaluation System, (2) the Specification Language System, and (3) the Array Index Validation System

Formal techniques for the procedural control of industrial processes

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Data-driven fault diagnosis and robust control: Application to PEM fuel cell systems

A data-driven methodology that includes the unfalsified control concept in the framework of fault diagnosis and isolation (FDI) and fault-tolerant control (FTC) is presented. The selection of the appropriate controller from a bank of controllers in a switching supervisory control setting is performed by using an adequate FDI outcome. By combining simultaneous online performance assessment of multiple controllers with the fault diagnosis decision from structured hypothesis tests, a diagnosis statement regarding what controller is most suitable to deal with the current (nominal or faulty) mode of the plant is obtained. Switching strategies that use the diagnosis statement are also proposed. This approach is applied to a nonlinear experimentally validated model of the breathing system of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell. The results show the effectiveness of this FDI–fault-tolerant control data-driven methodologyPeer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Technology assessment of advanced automation for space missions

Six general classes of technology requirements derived during the mission definition phase of the study were identified as having maximum importance and urgency, including autonomous world model based information systems, learning and hypothesis formation, natural language and other man-machine communication, space manufacturing, teleoperators and robot systems, and computer science and technology