Discrete Event Dynamic Systems

, 19:495

SAT-Solving in Practice, with a Tutorial Example from Supervisory Control

  • Koen Claessen
  • Niklas Een
  • Mary Sheeran
  • Niklas Sörensson
  • Alexey Voronov
  • Knut Åkesson
Article

DOI: 10.1007/s10626-009-0081-8

Cite this article as:
Claessen, K., Een, N., Sheeran, M. et al. Discrete Event Dyn Syst (2009) 19: 495. doi:10.1007/s10626-009-0081-8

Abstract

Satisfiability solving, the problem of deciding whether the variables of a propositional formula can be assigned in such a way that the formula evaluates to true, is one of the classic problems in computer science. It is of theoretical interest because it is the canonical NP-complete problem. It is of practical interest because modern SAT-solvers can be used to solve many important and practical problems. In this tutorial paper, we show briefly how such SAT-solvers are implemented, and point to some typical applications of them. Our aim is to provide sufficient information (much of it through the reference list) to kick-start researchers from new fields wishing to apply SAT-solvers to their problems. Supervisory control theory originated within the control community and is a framework for reasoning about a plant to be controlled and a specification that the closed-loop system must fulfil. This paper aims to bridge the gap between the computer science community and the control community by illustrating how SAT-based techniques can be used to solve some supervisory control related problems.

Keywords

Formal verificationBoolean satisfiability problemModel checkingSupervisory control

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009

Authors and Affiliations

  • Koen Claessen
    • 1
  • Niklas Een
    • 2
  • Mary Sheeran
    • 1
  • Niklas Sörensson
    • 1
  • Alexey Voronov
    • 3
  • Knut Åkesson
    • 3
  1. 1.Department of Computer Science and EngineeringChalmers University of TechnologyGothenburgSweden
  2. 2.Cadence Research LabsBerkeleyUSA
  3. 3.Department of Signals and SystemsChalmers University of TechnologyGothenburgSweden