A modified dynamic surface approach for control of nonlinear systems with unknown input dead zone

This paper focuses on the robust output precise tracking control problem of uncertain nonlinear systems in pure‐feedback form with unknown input dead zone. By designing an extended state observer, the states unmeasurable problem in traditional feedback control is solved, and the lumped uncertainty, which is caused by system unknown functions and input dead zone, is estimated. In order to apply separation principle, finite‐time extended state observer is designed to obtain system states and estimate the lumped uncertainty. Then, by introducing tracking differentiator, a modified dynamic surface control approach is developed to eliminate the ‘explosion of complexity’ problem and guarantee the tracking performance of system output. Because tracking differentiator is a fast precise signal filter, the closed‐loop control performance is significantly improved when it is used in dynamic surface control instead of first‐order filters. The L _∞ stability of the whole closed‐loop system, which guarantees both the transient and steady‐state performance, is shown by the Lyapunov method and initialization technique. Numerical and experiment examples are performed to illustrate our proposed control scheme with satisfactory results. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A two‐step control approach for docking of autonomous underwater vehicles

This paper presents a novel integrated guidance and control strategy for docking of autonomous underwater vehicles. The approach to the base, and hence the control design, is divided in two steps: (i) in the first, at higher speed, the vehicle dynamics is assumed to be underactuated, and an appropriate control law is derived to steer the vehicle towards the final docking path, achieving convergence to zero of the appropriate error variables for almost all initial conditions; (ii) in the second stage, at low speed, the vehicle is assumed to be fully actuated, and a robust control law is designed that achieves convergence to zero of the appropriate error variables for all initial conditions, in the presence of parametric model uncertainty. Simulations are presented illustrating the performance of the proposed controllers, including model uncertainty and sensor noise. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Output feedback control of discrete‐time systems with self‐triggered controllers

This paper is concerned with the self‐triggered output feedback control for discrete‐time systems, where an updating instants scheduler is implemented to determine when the controller is updated. For both the full‐order and reduced‐order observer cases, the updating instants are determined, respectively, where only the information of the estimated state at the current updating instant is required to obtain the next updating instant. It is shown that, with the proposed self‐triggered control schemes, not only the updating frequency is significantly reduced, but also the uniform ultimate boundedness of the closed‐loop system is guaranteed. Finally, a numerical example is used to verify the effectiveness and the merits of the proposed approaches. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On ADRC for non-minimum phase systems: canonical form selection and stability conditions

Active disturbance rejection control (ADRC), as proposed by Prof. Jingqing Han, reduces first the plant dynamics to its canonical form, normally in the form of cascade integrators, for which the standard controller can be employed to meet the design specifications. This paper concerns with the selection of the canonical form for non-minimum phase systems. In particular, it is shown that, by employing the well known controllable canonical form, the uncertainties of such systems can be divided into two terms in the state space model, one in the control channel and the other in the output channel. The necessary and sufficient condition is obtained for the stability of the closed-loop system with the proposed canonical form and ADRC. Also, by showing the necessity of the detectability of the extended system as well as certain information of the systemˉs “zeros”, we present the fundamental guidelines of design ADRC for non-minimum phase uncertain systems.     

Matrix expression and vaccination control for epidemic dynamics over dynamic networks

This paper investigates epidemic dynamics over dynamic networks via the approach of semi-tensor product of matrices. First, a formal susceptible-infected-susceptible epidemic dynamic model over dynamic networks (SISED-DN) is given. Second, based on a class of determinate co-evolutionary rule, the matrix expressions are established for the dynamics of individual states and network topologies, respectively. Then, all possible final spreading equilibria are obtained for any given initial epidemic state and network topology by the matrix expression. Third, a sufficient and necessary condition of the existence of state feedback vaccination control is presented to make every individual susceptible. The study of illustrative examples shows the effectiveness of our new results.     

Distributed non-cooperative robust MPC based on reduced-order models

In this paper, a non-cooperative distributed MPC algorithm based on reduced order model is proposed to stabilize large-scale systems. The large-scale system consists of a group of interconnected subsystems. Each subsystem can be partitioned into two parts: measurable part, whose states can be directly measured by sensors, and the unmeasurable part. In the online computation phase, only the measurable dynamics of the corresponding subsystem and neighbour-to-neighbour communication are necessary for the local controller design. Satisfaction of the state constraints and the practical stability are guaranteed while the complexity of the optimization problem is reduced. Numerical examples are given to show the effectiveness of this algorithm.     

Active disturbance rejection control: between the formulation in time and the understanding in frequency

With the rapid deployments of the active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) as a bonafide industrial technology in the background, this paper summarizes some recent results in the analysis of linear ADRC and offers explanations in the frequency response language with which practicing engineers are familiar. Critical to this endeavor is the concept of bandwidth, which has been used in a more general sense. It is this concept that can serve as the link between the otherwise opaque state space formulation of the ADRC and the command design considerations and concerns shared by practicing engineers. The remarkable characteristics of a simple linear ADRC was first shown in the frequency domain, followed by the corresponding analysis in time domain, where the relationship between the tracking error and the ADRC bandwidth is established. It is shown that such insight is only possible by using the method of solving linear differential equations, instead of the more traditional techniques such as the Lyapunov methods, which tend to be more conservative and difficult to grasp by engineers. The insight obtained from such analysis is further demonstrated in the simulation validation.     

Leader-following consensus for uncertain second-order nonlinear multi-agent systems

This paper studies the leader-following consensus problem for a class of second-order nonlinear multi-agent systems subject to linearly parameterized uncertainty and disturbance. The problem is solved by integrating the adaptive control technique and the adaptive distributed observer method. The design procedure is illustrated by an example with a group of Van der Pol oscillators as the followers and a harmonic system as the leader.     

基于细菌觅食算法的多线圈电- 机械转换器双模控制技术研究

针对提升电-机械转换器快速响应特性的技术需求,提出了新型三线圈结构电-机械转换器。通过建立的电-机械转换器数学模型,提出采用细菌觅食算法来寻找时间最优解,并基于此方法设计了砰-砰与比例-积分双模控制器。分析与仿真结果表明,相对于传统单线圈电-机械转换器,采用双模控制器的三线圈电-机械转换器,其响应时间从8.5 ms缩短至2.5 ms,震荡和超调不超过5%,可知该技术能够实现响应特性,前景良好。     

Control 5.0: From Newton to Merton in Popper's Cyber-Social-Physical Spaces

The future of control in cyberspace of parallel worlds is discussed. It argues for the coming age of Control 5.0, the control technology for the new IT capable of dealing with artificial worlds with VR, AR, AI and robotics. The discipline of automation needs a new interpretation of its core knowledge and skill set of modeling, analysis, and control for cyber-socialphysical systems, and a paradigm shift from Newtonian Systems with Newton's Laws or Big Laws with Small Data to Mertonian Systems with Merton's Laws or Small Laws with Big Data.