Control of sensory perception for discrete event systems

In this paper we address the problem of controlling sensory perception for use in discrete event feedback control systems. The process of controlling sensory perception has two main objectives: 1) to collect perceptual information to identify events with high levels of confidence and 2) to keep the sensing costs low. Several event recognition techniques have been developed by the authors, where each of the event recognisers produces confidence levels of recognised events. For a discrete event control system running in normal operation, the confidence levels are typically large and only a few event recognisers are needed. Then, as the event recognition becomes harder, the confidence levels will decrease and additional event recognisers are utilised by a sensory perception controller (SPC). Hence, the overall system has the ability to actively control the use of sensory input and perception to achieve high performance discrete event recognition. Two applications are presented in the paper: 1) robotic assembly and 2) mobile navigation. Both applications fit well in the discrete event framework and demonstrate the benefits of sensory perception control.