Optimal Sensor Selection and Placement for Discrete Event Systems: An Overview

It is generally impossible or pointless to place sen-sors everywhere in a system, as some sensors may be unavailable, costly, or even impossible to install in certain situations. In this context, optimal sensor selection and sensor placement become crucial aspects in ensuring the proper operation of discrete Event Systems. This paper presents the state of the art on these aspects, focusing on systems modeled by Petri nets. The review adopts a rational methodology including an exhaustive search of databases covering the period from 2000 to 2024, which enabled us to find and select articles with a minimum of bias. The results show that PN-based techniques and automata-based techniques are almost identical. This paper takes a closer look at techniques based on PNs, showing their specific merits. We also provide an overview of the approaches based on automata. Finally, we identify recurring gaps in the field, pointing to areas for future research.