Discrete event models+temporal logic=supervisory controller: automatic synthesis of locomotion controllers

Abstract

We address the problem of the synthesis of controller programs for a variety of robotics and manufacturing tasks. The problem we choose for the test and illustrative purposes is the standard "walking machine problem", a representative instance of a real hybrid problem with both logical/discrete and continuous properties and strong mutual influence without any reasonable separation. We aim to produce a "compiler technology" for this class of problems in a manner analogous to the development of the so-called "silicon compilers" for the VLSI technology. To cope with the difficulties inherent to the problem, we resort to a novel approach that combines many key ideas from a variety of disciplines, namely discrete event supervisory systems, Petri nets approaches and temporal logic.