Global asymptotic tracking for nonminimum‐phase nonlinear systems in output feedback form

The problem of global asymptotic tracking by output feedback is studied for a class of nonminimum‐phase nonlinear systems in output feedback form. It is proved that the problem is solvable by an n‐dimensional output feedback controller under the two conditions: (a) the nonminimum‐phase nonlinear system can be rendered minimum‐phase by a virtual output; and (b) the internal dynamics of the nonlinear system driven by a desired signal and its derivatives has a bounded solution trajectory. With the help of a new coordinate transformation, a constructive method is presented for the design of a dynamic output tracking controller. An example is given to validate the proposed output feedback tracking control scheme.     

Output feedback control of a class of nonminimum‐phase nonlinear systems

The problem of global stabilization by output feedback is investigated in this paper for a class of nonminimum‐phase nonlinear systems. The system under consideration has a cascade configuration that consists of a driven system known as the inverse dynamics and a driving system. It is proved that although the zero dynamics may be unstable, there is an output feedback controller, globally stabilizing the nonminimum‐phase system if both driven and driving systems have a lower‐triangular form and satisfy a Lipschitz‐like condition, and the inverse dynamics satisfy a stronger version of input‐to‐state stabilizability condition. A design procedure is provided for the construction of an n‐dimensional dynamic output feedback compensator. Examples and simulations are also given to validate the effectiveness of the proposed output feedback controller. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Output‐feedback tracking in causal nonminimum‐phase nonlinear systems using higher‐order sliding modes

Asymptotic output‐feedback tracking in a class of causal nonminimum phase uncertain nonlinear systems is addressed via sliding mode techniques. Sliding mode control is proposed for robust stabilization of the output tracking error in the presence of a bounded disturbance. The output reference profile and the unknown input/disturbance are supposed to be described by unknown linear exogenous systems of a given order. Local asymptotic stability of the output tracking error dynamics along with the boundedness of the internal states are proven. The unstable internal states are estimated asymptotically via the proposed multistage observer that is based on the method of extended system center. A higher‐order sliding mode observer/differentiator is used for the exact estimation of the input–output states in a finite time. The bounded disturbance is reconstructed asymptotically. A numerical example illustrates the efficiency of the proposed output‐feedback tracking approach developed for causal nonminimum phase nonlinear systems. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Robust control of a family of uncertain nonminimum‐phase systems via continuous‐time and sampled‐data output feedback

The problem of global robust stabilization is studied by both continuous‐time and sampled‐data output feedback for a family of nonminimum‐phase nonlinear systems with uncertainty. The uncertain nonlinear system considered in this paper has an interconnect structure consisting of a driving system and a possibly unstable zero dynamics with uncertainty, ie, the uncertain driven system. Under a linear growth condition on the uncertain zero dynamics and a Lipschitz condition on the driving system, we show that it is possible to globally robustly stabilize the family of uncertain nonminimum‐phase systems by a single continuous‐time or a sampled‐data output feedback controller. The sampled‐data output feedback controller is designed by using the emulated versions of a continuous‐time observer and a state feedback controller, ie, by holding the input/output signals constant over each sampling interval. The design of either continuous‐time or sampled‐data output compensator uses only the information of the nominal system of the uncertain controlled plant. In the case of sampled‐data control, global robust stability of the hybrid closed‐loop system with uncertainty is established by means of a feedback domination method together with the robustness of the nominal closed‐loop system if the sampling time is small enough.     

Multi‐parametric extremum seeking‐based iterative feedback gains tuning for nonlinear control

We study in this paper the problem of iterative feedback gains auto‐tuning for a class of nonlinear systems. For the class of input–output linearizable nonlinear systems with bounded additive uncertainties, we first design a nominal input–output linearization‐based robust controller that ensures global uniform boundedness of the output tracking error dynamics. Then, we complement the robust controller with a model‐free multi‐parametric extremum seeking control to iteratively auto‐tune the feedback gains. We analyze the stability of the whole controller, that is, the robust nonlinear controller combined with the multi‐parametric extremum seeking model‐free learning algorithm. We use numerical tests to demonstrate the performance of this method on a mechatronics example. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Output‐feedback stabilization for planar output‐constrained switched nonlinear systems

In this paper, globally asymptotical stabilization problem for a class of planar switched nonlinear systems with an output constraint via smooth output feedback is investigated. To prevent output constraint violation, a common tangent‐type barrier Lyapunov function (tan‐BLF) is developed. Adding a power integrator approach (APIA) is revamped to systematically design state‐feedback stabilizing control laws incorporating the common tan‐BLF. Then, based on the designed state‐feedback controllers and a constructed common nonlinear observer, smooth output‐feedback controllers, which can make the system output meet the predefined constraint during operation, are proposed to deal with the globally asymptotical stabilization problem of planar switched nonlinear systems under arbitrary switchings. A numerical example is employed to verify the proposed method.     

Time‐varying input delay compensation for nonlinear systems with additive disturbance: An output feedback approach

This paper addresses the output feedback tracking control of a class of multiple‐input and multiple‐output nonlinear systems subject to time‐varying input delay and additive bounded disturbances. Based on the backstepping design approach, an output feedback robust controller is proposed by integrating an extended state observer and a novel robust controller, which uses a desired trajectory‐based feedforward term to achieve an improved model compensation and a robust delay compensation feedback term based on the finite integral of the past control values to compensate for the time‐varying input delay. The extended state observer can simultaneously estimate the unmeasurable system states and the additive disturbances only with the output measurement and delayed control input. The proposed controller theoretically guarantees prescribed transient performance and steady‐state tracking accuracy in spite of the presence of time‐varying input delay and additive bounded disturbances based on Lyapunov stability analysis by using a Lyapunov‐Krasovskii functional. A specific study on a 2‐link robot manipulator is performed; based on the system model and the proposed design procedure, a suitable controller is developed, and comparative simulation results are obtained to demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed control scheme.     

Optimal tracking performance of MIMO discrete‐time systems with communication constraints

The optimal tracking problem for multiple‐input multiple‐output linear‐time‐invariant discrete‐time systems with communication constraints in the feedback path is studied in this paper. The tracking performance is measured by the energy of the error signal between the output of the plant and the reference signal. The objective is to obtain an optimal tracking performance, attainable by all possible stabilizing compensators. It is shown that the optimal tracking performance consists of two parts, one depends on the nonminimum phase zeros and zero direction of the given plant, as well as the reference input signal direction, and the other depends on the nonminimum phase zeros, unstable poles, and pole direction of the given plant, as well as the bandwidth and additive white Gaussian noise of the communication channel. It is also shown that, if the constraint of the communication channel does not exist, the optimal tracking performance reduces to the existing tracking performance of the control system without communication constraints. A typical example is given to illustrate the theoretical results. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Output feedback tracking control for lower‐triangular nonlinear time‐delay systems with asymmetric input saturation

In this paper, the problem of output feedback tracking control is investigated for lower‐triangular nonlinear time‐delay systems in the presence of asymmetric input saturation. A novel design program based on a dynamic high gain design approach is proposed to construct an output feedback tracking controller. The innovation here is that the problem of constructing tracking controller can be transformed into the problem of constructing two dynamic equations, with one being utilized to deal with the nonlinear terms and the other one being applied to analyze the influence of asymmetric input saturation. It is proved by an appropriate Lyapunov‐Krasovskii functional that the proposed tracking controller subject to saturation can ensure that all the signals of the closed‐loop system are globally bounded and the tracking error is prescribed sufficiently small when time is long enough. A practical example is given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

An improved sum‐of‐squares based approach to fuzzy tracking control design of nonlinear systems

In this paper, using a more general Lyapunov function, less conservative sum‐of‐squares (SOS) stability conditions for polynomial‐fuzzy‐model‐based tracking control systems are derived. In tracking control problems the objective is to drive the system states of a nonlinear plant to follow the system states of a given reference model. A state feedback polynomial fuzzy controller is employed to achieve this goal. The tracking control design is formulated as an SOS optimization problem. Here, unlike previous SOS‐based tracking control approaches, a full‐state‐dependent Lyapunov matrix is used, which reduces the conservatism of the stability criteria. Furthermore, the SOS conditions are derived to guarantee the system stability subject to a given H_∞ performance. The proposed method is applied to the pitch‐axis autopilot design problem of a high‐agile tail‐controlled pursuit and another numerical example to demonstrate the effectiveness and benefits of the proposed method.     

H ∞ output tracking control for discrete‐time switched systems via output feedback

This paper studies the problem of H _∞ output tracking control for a class of discrete‐time switched systems. Neither the measurability of the system state nor the solvability of the output tracking control problem for each individual subsystem is required. We design controllers for subsystems and a switching law to solve the H _∞ output tracking problem for the switched system. The designed controllers use only the measured output feedback, and the switching law is based on the measured output tracking error. In addition, the quadratic function corresponding to each subsystem is not required to be positive definite. A numerical example is provided to demonstrate the feasibility and validity of the proposed design method. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reduced‐order observer‐based output‐feedback tracking control of nonlinear systems with state delay and disturbance

In this paper, we investigate the problem of output‐feedback tracking control for a class of nonlinear SISO systems in the strick‐feedback form, which are subject to both uncertain delay‐related functions and disturbances. A reduced‐order observer is first introduced to provide the estimates of the unmeasured states. Then, an output‐feedback controller is recursively designed based on the backsteppng method. By constructing an appropriate Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional, we prove that all the signals in the closed‐loop system are bounded. The tracking performance is guaranteed by suitably choosing the design parameters. Finally, a simulation example is provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control algorithm. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Observer‐based adaptive control for nonlinear strict‐feedback stochastic systems with output constraints

In this paper, an adaptive output‐feedback control problem is investigated for nonlinear strict‐feedback stochastic systems with input saturation and output constraint. A barrier Lyapunov function is used to solve the problem of output constraint. Then, fuzzy logic systems are used to approximate the unknown nonlinear functions, and a fuzzy state observer is designed to estimate the unmeasured states. To overcome the difficulties in designing the control signal in the saturation, we introduce an auxiliary signal in the n + 1th step in the deduction. By combining Nussbaum technique and the adaptive backstepping technique, an adaptive output‐feedback control method is developed. The proposed control method not only overcomes the problem of the compensation for the nonlinear term from the input saturation but also overcomes the problem of unavailable state measurements. It is proved that all the signals of the closed‐loop system are semiglobally uniformly ultimately bounded. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by the simulation results.     

A multivariable MRAC scheme with application to a nonlinear aircraft model

This paper revisits the multivariable model reference adaptive control (MRAC) problem, by studying adaptive state feedback control for output tracking of multi-input multi-output (MIMO) systems. With such a control scheme, the plant-model matching conditions are much less restrictive than those for state tracking, while the controller has a simpler structure than that of an output feedback design. Such a control scheme is useful when the plant-model matching conditions for state tracking cannot be satisfied. A stable adaptive control scheme is developed based on LDS decomposition of the high-frequency gain matrix, which ensures closed-loop stability and asymptotic output tracking. A simulation study of a linearized lateral-directional dynamics model of a realistic nonlinear aircraft system model is conducted to demonstrate the scheme. This linear design based MRAC scheme is subsequently applied to a nonlinear aircraft system, and the results indicate that this linearization-based adaptive scheme can provide acceptable system performance for the nonlinear systems in a neighborhood of an operating point.     

Robust nonlinear ship course‐keeping control by H∞ I/O linearization and μ‐synthesis

In this paper, the H_∞ input/output (I/O) linearization formulation is applied to design an inner‐loop nonlinear controller for a nonlinear ship course‐keeping control problem. Due to the ship motion dynamics are non‐minimum phase, it is impossible to use the ordinary feedback I/O linearization to resolve. Hence, the technique of H_∞ I/O linearization is proposed to obtain a nonlinear H_∞ controller such that the compensated nonlinear system approximates the linear reference model in I/O behaviour. Then a μ‐synthesis method is employed to design an outer‐loop robust controller to address tracking, regulation, and robustness issues. The time responses of the tracking signals for the closed‐loop system reveal that the overall robust nonlinear controller is able to provide robust stability and robust performance for the plant uncertainties and state measurement errors. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Observer‐based decentralized adaptive control for large‐scale pure‐feedback systems with unknown time‐delayed nonlinear interactions

This paper presents an approximation design for a decentralized adaptive output‐feedback control of large‐scale pure‐feedback nonlinear systems with unknown time‐varying delayed interconnections. The interaction terms are bounded by unknown nonlinear bounding functions including unmeasurable state variables of subsystems. These bounding functions together with the algebraic loop problem of virtual and actual control inputs in the pure‐feedback form make the output‐feedback controller design difficult and challenging. To overcome the design difficulties, the observer‐based dynamic surface memoryless local controller for each subsystem is designed using appropriate Lyapunov‐Krasovskii functionals, the function approximation technique based on neural networks, and the additional first‐order low‐pass filter for the actual control input. It is shown that all signals in the total controlled closed‐loop system are semiglobally uniformly bounded and control errors converge to an adjustable neighborhood of the origin. Finally, simulation examples are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed decentralized control scheme. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Delay‐ and Packet‐Disordering‐Dependent H∞ Output Tracking Control for Networked Control Systems

This paper is concerned with the problem of H_∞ output tracking control for networked control systems (NCSs) with network‐induced delay and packet disordering. Different from the results in existing literature, the controller design in this paper is both delay‐ and packet‐disordering‐dependent. Based on the different cases of consecutive predictions, the networked output tracking system is modeled into a switched system. Moreover, by the corresponding switching‐based Lyapunov functional approach, a linear matrix inequality (LMI)‐based procedure is proposed for designing state‐feedback controllers, which guarantees that the output of the closed‐loop NCSs tracks the output of a given reference model well in the H_∞ sense. In addition, the proposed method can be applied variously due to all kinds of prediction numbers of the consecutive disordering packet have been considered, and the designed controller is based on the prediction case in the last transmission interval, which brings about less conservatism. Finally numerical examples and simulations are used to illustrate the effectiveness and validity of the proposed switching‐based method and the delay‐ and packet‐disordering‐dependent H_∞ output tracking controller design.     

Observer‐based adaptive robust control of a class of nonlinear systems with dynamic uncertainties

In this paper, a discontinuous projection‐based adaptive robust control (ARC) scheme is constructed for a class of nonlinear systems in an extended semi‐strict feedback form by incorporating a nonlinear observer and a dynamic normalization signal. The form allows for parametric uncertainties, uncertain nonlinearities, and dynamic uncertainties. The unmeasured states associated with the dynamic uncertainties are assumed to enter the system equations in an affine fashion. A novel nonlinear observer is first constructed to estimate the unmeasured states for a less conservative design. Estimation errors of dynamic uncertainties, as well as other model uncertainties, are dealt with effectively via certain robust feedback control terms for a guaranteed robust performance. In contrast with existing conservative robust adaptive control schemes, the proposed ARC method makes full use of the available structural information on the unmeasured state dynamics and the prior knowledge on the bounds of parameter variations for high performance. The resulting ARC controller achieves a prescribed output tracking transient performance and final tracking accuracy in the sense that the upper bound on the absolute value of the output tracking error over entire time‐history is given and related to certain controller design parameters in a known form. Furthermore, in the absence of uncertain nonlinearities, asymptotic output tracking is also achieved. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tracking Performance Achievement for Continuous‐Time Delayed Linear Systems Subject to Actuator Saturation and output Disturbances

Controlling continuous‐time input‐delayed nonminimum‐phase linear systems is addressed in the presence of actuator saturation and output‐disturbances. Focusing on output‐reference tracking, the control design is dealt with in the pseudo‐polynomials ring. A quite appealing L₂ ‐tracking performance is shown to be achievable in the presence of arbitrary inputs i.e. the output reference and the output disturbance. The performance is formulated in terms of a well defined output‐reference mismatch error (ORME), depending on the inputs’ rate and their compatibility with the actuator saturation constraint.