Fault tolerant control of discrete-event systems

In the framework of Indutry 4.0 the plants in the manufacturing industry are becoming significantly more flexible and characterized by variable topology. Such systems can be described by discrete-event systems (for instance, automata, petri-nets) conveniently. Faults in actuators, sensors or plant components lead to a reduction of the overall system performance. With the help of fault tolerant control it is possible to ensure that the system continues its operation and the impact of faults is automatically compensated. In order to improve the plant availability, new methods are being developed for the fault tolerant control of discrete-event systems.

Publications

  • J. Barbosa, P. Zhang. Model-free tracking control of Petri nets. Proceedings of the 2026 European Control Conference (ECC), 2026.
  • A. Köhler, P. Zhang. Fault diagnosis based on time signal interpreted Petri nets. Proceedings of the 2025 Conference on Decision and Control (CDC), 2025.
  • A. Köhler, J. Rützel, P. Zhang. An approach to automatic design of logic controllers and its experimental evaluation. IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology, conditionally accepted as Full Paper, 2025.
  • A. Köhler, P. Zhang. Liveness, reachability, and reversibility of signal interpreted Petri nets. IEEE Control Systems Letters, Vol. 9, pp. 3131-3136, 2025.
  • A. Köhler, P. Marijan, P. Zhang. Enforcement of current-state opacity in signal interpreted Petri nets. IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, Vol. 69, No. 11, pp. 8104-8111, 2024.
  • A. Köhler, P. Zhang. Identification of discrete event systems by signal interpreted Petri nets. Proceedings of the 2024 American Control Conference (ACC), Toronto, Canada, 2024.
  • M. Jia, N. Krebs, R. Fritz, P. Zhang. Modeling and scheduling of multi-batch process based on Petri nets and Monte-Carlo tree search. Proceedings of the 2024 Conference on Decision and Control (CDC), 2024.
  • A. Köhler, P. Zhang. State estimation for time signal interpreted Petri nets. Proceedings of the 17th IFAC Workshop on Discrete Event Systems (WODES), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2024.
  • R. Fritz, P. Zhang. Detection and Localization of Stealthy Cyber Attacks in Cyber-Physical Discrete Event Systems. IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, 2023, DOI: 10.1109/TAC.2023.3253462.
  • A. Köhler, P. Zhang. Fault diagnosis in discrete event systems modeled by signal interpreted Petri nets. Proceedings of the 22nd IFAC World Congress (IFAC), Yokohama, Japan, 2023.
  • A. Köhler, P. Zhang. Pareto modeling of discrete manufacturing systems by signal interpreted Petri nets. Proceedings of the 2023 American Control Conference (ACC), San Diego, USA, 2023.
  • M. Jia, A. Köhler, R. Fritz, P. Zhang. Monte-Carlo tree search with neural networks for Petri nets. Proceedings of the 2022 American Control Conference (ACC), 2022.
  • A. Köhler, P. Zhang. State estimation in discrete event Systems modeled by signal interpreted Petri nets. IEEE Control Systems Letters, Vol. 6, pp. 2078-2083, 2021.
  • A. Köhler, P. Zhang, R. Fritz. Specification governor for fault tolerant control of large-scale manufacturing systems. European Journal of Control, Vol. 62, pp. 198-205, 2021.
  • A. Köhler, R. Fritz, P. Zhang. Approach to design distributed logic controllers for large-scale manufacturing systems. Proceedings of the 2021 American Control Conference (ACC), pp. 495-500, 2021.
  • R. Fritz, N. Krebs, P. Zhang. A Monte-Carlo Tree Search based Tracking Control Approach for Timed Petri Nets. Proceedings of the 21st IFAC World Congress (IFAC), pp. 2125-2130, Berlin, Germany, 2020.
  • R. Fritz, M. Fauser, P. Zhang. Controller encryption for discrete event systems. Proceedings of the 2019 American Control Conference (ACC), pp. 5633-5638, Philadelphia, USA, 2019.
  • R. Fritz, P. Schwarz, P. Zhang. Modeling of Cyber Attacks and a Time Guard Detection for ICS Based on Discrete Event Systems. Proceedings of the 2019 European Control Conference (ECC), pp. 4368-4373, Naples, Italy, 2019.
  • R. Fritz, J. Napitupulu, P. Zhang. Tracking control for Petri nets based on Monte-Carlo Tree Search. Proceedings of the 2019 European Control Conference (ECC), pp. 4180-4185, Naples, Italy, 2019.
  • R. Fritz and P. Zhang. Fault-tolerant tracking control of petri nets. Automatisierungstechnik, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 30-40, 2018.
  • R. Fritz, P. Zhang. Modeling and detection of cyber attacks on discrete event systems. Proceedings of the 14th Workshop on Discrete Event Systems (WODES), pp. 296-301, Sorrento Coast, Italy, 2018.
  • R. Fritz, P. Zhang. Tracking control for petri nets with forbidden states. Proceedings of the 2018 European Control Conference (ECC), pp. 1888-1893, Limassol, Cyprus, 2018.
  • R. Fritz, P. Zhang. Overview of fault-tolerant control methods for discrete event systems. Proceedings of the 10th IFAC Symposium on Fault Detection, Supervision and Safety for Technical Processes (SAFEPROCESS), Warsaw, Poland, 2018.
  • R. Fritz, P. Zhang. Detektion von Angriffen auf Cyber-Physische Fertigungssysteme. Proceedings of the 2018 Automation, pp. 69-80, Baden-Baden, Germany, 2018.

Master Thesis

  • Ajay Arun Babar. Automatic Logic Controller Design Using Artificial Intelligence. 2026.
  • M. Rezapour. Behavior Trees for Skill-based Industrial Automation Controllers. 2024.
  • J. Rützel. Experimental Research of an automated Controller Design Procedure. 2024.
  • J. Trieb. Entwicklung eines Digitalen Zwillings für einen Fertigungsprozess. 2023.
  • P. Marijan. Investigation of Opacity in SIPNs and Its Application to a Laboratory Plant. 2021.
  • N. Krebs. Ablaufplanung in Multi-Batch Prozessen basierend auf Monte-Carlo Tree Search von Petri-Netzen. 2020.
  • A. Köhler. Fault Tolerant Control for Large-scale Manufacturing Systems. 2020.
  • P. Schwarz. Cyber-Angriffe und deren Detektion in ereignisdiskreten Systemen. 2018.
  • T. Laubscher. Entwurf und Analyse einer Cloud-basierten Steuerung einer Fertigungslinie. 2016.
  • R. Fritz: Online Rekonfiguration von flexiblen Fertigungssystemen basierend auf ganzzahliger linearer Programmierung / online Reconfiguration of flexible manufacturing systems based on Integer linear programming. 2016.
  • J. D. Fernández: Online Control Reconfiguration of Flexible Manufacturing Plants based on Petri Net Models. 2014.

Master Project

  • E. Kothe. Schätzung des aktuellen Anlagenzustandes unter Verwendung eines SIPN-Anlagenmodells. 2025.
  • S. Ndegwa. Comparative Case Study of Mixed-Integer Linear Programming and MCTS-based Scheduling Methodologies for a Three-Stage Batch Plant. 2025.
  • T. Lemke. KI-gestützte Bilderkennung in Produktionsanlagen. 2024.
  • F. Kajogbola. Design, Implementation und Control of a Large-Scale Manufacturing Plant. 2021.

Bachelor Thesis

  • D. Hallerbach. Integration of learning capabilities in Monte-Carlo tree search for tracking conrol of Petri nets. 2019.
  • M. Fauser. Steuerungsverschlüsselung für ereignisdiskrete Systeme. 2018.
  • P. Marijan. Modellierung eines Hafens basierend auf ereignisdiskreten Systemen. 2018.
  • T. Laubscher. Steuerung einer Fertigungslinie mit Hilfe von MatLab/Stateflow. 2015.
  • C. Hakizimana. Application of Model Checking to Logic Control Systems - A Comparison Study. Studienarbeit, 2014.