Analysis of signaling in a finite stochastic system motivated by decentralized control

Analysis and control of large-scale systems such as interconnected power, biological, communication and traffic networks are limited by the extensive instrumentation required for data gathering, processing and transfer. In this paper, we study the signaling property for decentralized control of finite-state stochastic systems under the Observer-Controller Specialization. The problem is divided into three components: What to send? How to send? and How to control with the received signal?´ Solutions are provided to these three problems using concepts and results of control and system theory. An academic example illustrates the approach.