Robust output stabilization: improving performance via supervisory control

We analyze robust stability, in an input-output sense, of switched stable systems. The primary goal (and contribution) of this paper is to design switching strategies to guarantee that input-output stable systems remain so under switching. We propose two types of {\em supervisors}: dwell-time and hysteresis based. While our results are stated as tools of analysis they serve a clear purpose in design: to improve performance. In that respect, we illustrate the utility of our findings by concisely addressing a problem of observer design for Lur'e-type systems; in particular, we design a hybrid observer that ensures ``fast'' convergence with ``low'' overshoots. As a second application of our main results we use hybrid control in the context of synchronization of chaotic oscillators with the goal of reducing control effort; an originality of the hybrid control in this context with respect to other contributions in the area is that it exploits the structure and chaotic behavior (boundedness of solutions) of Lorenz oscillators.Comment: Short version submitted to IEEE TA

A graph theoretic approach to input-to-state stability of switched systems

This article deals with input-to-state stability (ISS) of discrete-time switched systems. Given a family of nonlinear systems with exogenous inputs, we present a class of switching signals under which the resulting switched system is ISS. We allow non-ISS systems in the family and our analysis involves graph-theoretic arguments. A weighted digraph is associated to the switched system, and a switching signal is expressed as an infinite walk on this digraph, both in a natural way. Our class of stabilizing switching signals (infinite walks) is periodic in nature and affords simple algorithmic construction.Comment: 14 pages, 1 figur