Supervisory control of discrete-event systems: an introduction

Discrete-event systems (DES) encompass manufacturing systems, traffic systems, logistic systems, and distributed control and communication networks. The associated processes are discrete (in time and space), asynchronous (event-driven rather than clock-driven) and generative (nondeterministic). In recent years, a theory has emerged of the control of DES, in a setting of finite automata and regular languages; the theory has found application to a range of industrial control processes. This paper provides a tutorial introduction, including an illustrative design problem.