The course addresses the problem of control, diagnosis and supervision of production systems. In particular, the Supervisory Control Theory is studied, where the focus is on the automatic synthesis of the controller of plants modelled with labelled automata in presence of any admissible logic specification. In addition, the course will study the automatic synthesis of the diagnoser automaton, able to identify faults based on system observable events. A hint will be given also on the implementation of the supervisor and diagnoser on traditional controllers (PLC). The applications are mainly in the discrete manufacturing field, but also for energy production systems.

The diligent and careful student will learn how to synthesize an automatic controller based on logic specification, within the Supervisory Control Theory, as well as a diagnoser. He will receive a hint on possible implementations.

1. Alignment on the basics of automation problems and PLC
2. Introduction to industrial supervision and control, and formal methododologies
3. Logic models: labelled automata, formal languages, labelled Petri nets.
4. Synchronous composition, asycnhronous composition, composition with priorities.
5. Refinement. Sub-automaton and super-automaton.
6. Static and dynamic specification. Event-based and state-based specification.
7. Supervisor properties: controllability, non blockingness.
8. Synthesis of the supreme controllable supervisor
9. Implementation of the supervisor. Ladder logic.
10. Example of a discrete production system supervision.
11. Monitoring and diagnosis of faults: non deterministic automata.
12. State observer and event-based diagnosis.
13. Extensions to hybrid automata: basic modeling, properties, evolution
14. Hints to applications to energy production systems.

No formal prerequisites for this course, even if the content of courses of Sistemi ad Eventi Discreti or Automazione Industriale are welcome.

Written examination. The exam typically consists of few exercises (3 to 5) with some questions. The duration is approximately less tha 2 hours. The exam will investigate the capabilities of the student to model the behaviour of process and discrete production systems through the formalism of labelled automata, to suitably model the specification on such systems, to synthesize the supremal controllable nonblocking supervisor, to model a system with basic faults, to identify fault symptoms, to compute the determistic observer for an indeterministic faulty model and finally to synthesize the corresponding diagnoser. A hint on possible implementations of a basic supervisor can be also asked.

Lecture notes, solved exams and exercises available on the course web site