A Supervisory Control Synthesis Case Study: The Antenna Control System

We devised an algorithm for deriving controllers for timed discrete-event systems with nonterminating behavior modeled by timed transition graphs and control requirements expressed by Metric Temporal Logic (MTL) formulas. This algorithm has several interesting features. Firstly, it simultaneously handles the issues of con-trollability, safety, liveness, and real time in a single framework. Secondly, time and space complexity of the algorithm is reduced thanks to ingenious search and representation techniques. This algorithm has a general character and is implemented in a system called Temporal Controller Synthesis Tool (TCST). In our research, there is a strong commitment to the application of theoretical research results. We validated our algorithm through case studies. This is very important for assessing its realism. This paper presents the application of our algorithm to the derivation of a controller for an Antenna Rotor Control System (ARCS). The ARCS is responsible for orienting antennas in the direction of a telecommunications satellite. The paper presents modeling of the rotor system with timed transition graphs, speciication of the constraints with MTL, and a controller derived using TCST.