Time-varying sliding mode control for a class of uncertain MIMO nonlinear system subject to control input constraint

To solve the regulator problem of a class of uncertain MIMO nonlinear systems subject to control input constraint, three types of time-varying sliding mode control laws are proposed. The sliding surfaces pass the initial value of the system at the initial time, and are shifted/rotated towards the predetermined ones. The controller parameters are optimized by genetic algorithm (GA). Lyapunov method is adopted to prove the stability and robustness to the parameter uncertainties and external disturbance. By me...     

Robust actuator fault isolation and management in constrained uncertain parabolic PDE systems

This paper presents a methodology for the design of an integrated robust fault detection and isolation (FDI) and fault-tolerant control (FTC) architecture for distributed parameter systems modeled by nonlinear parabolic Partial Differential Equations (PDEs) with time-varying uncertain variables, actuator constraints and faults. The design is based on an approximate finite-dimensional system that captures the dominant dynamics of the PDE system. Initially, an invertible coordinate transformation-obtained through judicious actuator placement-is used to transform the approximate system into a form where the evolution of each state is excited directly by only one actuator. For each state, a robustly stabilizing bounded feedback controller that achieves an arbitrary degree of asymptotic attenuation of the effect of uncertainty is then synthesized and its constrained stability region is explicitly characterized in terms of the constraints, the actuator locations and the size of the uncertainty. A key idea in the controller synthesis is to shape the fault-free closed-loop response of each state in a prescribed fashion that facilitates the derivation of (1) dedicated FDI residuals and thresholds for each actuator, and (2) an explicit characterization of the state-space regions where FDI can be performed under uncertainty and constraints. A switching law is then derived to orchestrate actuator reconfiguration in a way that preserves robust closed-loop stability following FDI. Precise FDI rules and control reconfiguration criteria that account for model reduction errors are derived for the implementation of the FDI-FTC structure on the distributed parameter system. Finally, the results are demonstrated using a tubular reactor example.     

Model predictive control for systems with stochastic multiplicative uncertainty and probabilistic constraints

Robust predictive control handles constrained systems that are subject to stochastic uncertainty but propagating the effects of uncertainty over a prediction horizon can be computationally expensive and conservative. This paper overcomes these issues through an augmented autonomous prediction formulation, and provides a method of handling probabilistic constraints and ensuring closed loop stability through the use of an extension of the concept of invariance, namely invariance with probability p.     

Dynamic harmonic fields for surface processing

Harmonic fields have been shown to provide effective guidance for a number of geometry processing problems. In this paper, we propose a method for fast updating of harmonic fields defined on polygonal meshes, enabling real-time insertion and deletion of constraints. Our approach utilizes the penalty method to enforce constraints in harmonic field computation. It maintains the symmetry of the Laplacian system and takes advantage of fast multi-rank updating and downdating of Cholesky factorization, achieving both speed and numerical stability. We demonstrate how the interactivity induced by fast harmonic field update can be utilized in several applications, including harmonic-guided quadrilateral remeshing, vector field design, interactive geometric detail modeling, and handle-driven shape editing and animation transfer with a dynamic handle set.     

Adaptive neural control for an uncertain robotic manipulator with joint space constraints

In this paper, adaptive neural tracking control is proposed for a robotic manipulator with uncertainties in both manipulator dynamics and joint actuator dynamics. The manipulator joints are subject to inequality constraints, i.e., the joint angles are required to remain in some compact sets. Integral barrier Lyapunov functionals (iBLFs) are employed to address the joint space constraints directly without performing an additional mapping to the error space. Neural networks (NNs) are utilised to compensate for the unknown robot dynamics and external force. Adapting parameters are developed to estimate the unknown bounds on NN approximations. By the Lyapunov synthesis, the proposed control can guarantee the semi-global uniform ultimate boundedness of the closed-loop system, and the practical tracking of joint reference trajectory is achieved without the violation of predefined joint space constraints. Simulation results are given to validate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.     

Region with velocity constraints: map information and its usage for safe motion planning of a mobile robot in a public environment

Recently, various autonomous mobile robots have been developed for practical use. To support the coexistence of robots and humans in real environments, we propose a concept named ‘Region with Velocity Constraints (RVC),’ which is set around hazardous areas. RVCs are regions where the velocities of the robot are constrained to predefined values. Inside the RVCs, the robot has to reduce its translational velocity to avoid predicted hazards such as collisions with obstacles, and to reduce its rotational velocity to prevent undesirable motions such as sharp turns. We also propose a motion planning method for navigating the mobile robot in an environment with RVCs based on the Navigation Function and Global Dynamic Window Approach. Our method generates a trajectory satisfying both translational and rotational velocity constraints to be compatible with the surroundings. Moreover, to demonstrate the validity of our method, we performed numerical simulations and experiments.     

Command governor for constrained switched systems with scheduled model transition dwell times

In this paper, a switched control architecture for constrained control systems is presented. The strategy is based on command governor ideas that are here specialized to ‘optimally’ schedule switching events on the plant dynamics for improving control performance at the expense of low computational burdens. The significance of the method mainly lies in its capability to avoid constraints violation and loss of stability regardless of any configuration change occurrence in the plant/constraint structure. To this end, the concept of model transition dwell time is used within the proposed control framework to formally define the minimum time necessary to enable a switching event under guaranteed conditions on the overall stability and constraint fulfilment. Simulation results on a simple linear system and on a Cessna 182 aircraft model show the effectiveness of the proposed strategy. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Robust adaptive DSC of directly input‐coupled nonlinear systems with input unmodeled dynamics and time‐varying output constraints

In this paper, an adaptive robust dynamic surface control is proposed for a class of uncertain nonlinear interconnected systems with time‐varying output constraints and dynamic input and output coupling. The directly coupled inputs and control inputs are both of nonlinear input unmodeled dynamics. To counteract the instable impact of the nonlinear input unmodeled dynamics, normalization signals are designed on the basis of the convergence rates of their Lyapunov functions. With new state variables and control variables being defined, the real control inputs are obtained through solving the equations of intermediate control laws. The time‐varying constraints on output signals are implemented by introducing asymmetric barrier Lyapunov functions. In addition, dynamic signals and decentralized K‐filters are used to deal with the state unmodeled dynamics and to estimate the unmeasurable states, respectively. By the theoretical analysis, the signals in the closed‐loop system are proved to be semi‐globally uniformly ultimately bounded, and the output constraints are guaranteed simultaneously. A numerical example is provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.