Performance Evaluation via Perturbation Analysis

In this paper we present an overview for the development of a theory for analyzing and predicting the behavior if discrete event dynamic systems (DEDS). DEDS are dynamic systems in which state transitions are caused by internal, discrete events in the system. DEDS are attracting considerable interest, current applications are found in manufacturing systems, communications and air traffic systems, future applications will include robotics, computer vision and artificial intelligence. We will discuss the perturbation analysis technique (PA) for evaluation the performance of DEDS.