Less conservative results of state estimation for delayed neural networks with fewer LMI variables

In this paper, the state estimation problem is investigated for neural networks with time-varying delays as well as general activation functions. By applying the Finsler's Lemma and constructing appropriate Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional based on delay partitioning, several improved delay-dependent conditions are developed to estimate the neuron state with some available output measurements such that the error-state system is global asymptotically stable. It is established theoretically that one special case of the obtained criteria is equivalent to some existing result with same conservatism but including fewer LMI variables. As the present conditions involve no free-weighting matrices, the computational burden is largely reduced. Two examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results.