Communication and control of distributed hybrid systems

The rich and exciting research over the past decade concerning the description, analysis, controller design, simulation, and implementation of distributed systems is reviewed. From control engineering, this research has inherited the concepts and theories of optimality, stability, controlled differential equation models, and the motivation to improve the performance of increasingly complex physical processes. From computer science, the research has incorporated the theories of logical specification and verification, event-driven state machine models, concurrent processes and object-oriented approaches. The review is organized in the framework of dynamic networks of hybrid automata. The case study of an automated highway system is used to illustrate the challenges posed by a complex distributed system, and the research contributions that address different challenges. There is an equal emphasis on the conceptual and theoretical contributions and on tools and techniques that yield more immediately practical benefits.