Controllability and Observability of Control Systems under Uncertainty

This report surveys the results of nonlinear systems theory (controllability and observability) obtained at IIASA during the last three summers. Classical methods based on differential geometry require some regularity and fail as soon as state-dependent constraints are brought to bear on the controls, or uncertainty and disturbances are involved in the system. Since these important features appear in most realistic control problems, new methods had to be devised, which encompass the classical ones, and allow the presence of a priori feedback into the control systems. This is now possible thanks to new tools, in the development of which IIASA played an important role: differential inclusions and set-valued analysis

The Exact Linearization and LQR Control of Semiactive Connected Hydropneumatic Suspension System

Based on differential geometry theory, the nonlinear system of connected hydropneumatic suspension was transformed to a linear one. What is more, it realized the decoupling and inverter between the control variables and system outputs. With LQR (Linear Quadratic Regulator) control theory, a semiactive system has been developed for connected hydropneumatic suspension in this paper. By AMESim/Simulink cosimulation, the results show that the semiactive connected hydropneumatic suspension decreases the vibration of upper vehicle quickly and reduces the impact acceleration strongly both in displacement and inroll angle. Moreover, the semiactive suspension could increase the suspension dynamic deflection, which would make the system reach balance quickly and keep small vibration amplitude under the effect of disturbance

A Geometric Control System with Applications to Helicopters

This thesis introduces an Automatic Flight Control System for single rotor helicopters which gives a new relevance to the traditional techniques based on the Linear Control Theory. This design was obtained by applying concepts of differential geometry tailored for engineering purposes through the Nonlinear System Theory. The development of this thesis follows the traditional path of applied sciences. First the need to establish techniques for theoretical analysis of flight machanics, where the small disturbance methods are no longer valid, is reviewed. This is followed by a presentation of the nonlinear problem and a survey of the development of the theoretical tools available. At this stage the process, a single rotor helicopter, is modelled. The model is then cast in a form suitable for Nonlinear System Theory techniques. Next, the mathematical theory to be applied is fully developed. It consists of finding the conditions required by a nonlinear system to be transformable under state feedback to a linear canonical form; the construction of the feedback is also presented. A Flight Control System is designed by applying this theory to the helicopter model previously formulated. The above application requires the development of Symbolic Algebraic Manipulation programmes, which are also included. Finally, a set of simulation studies demonstrate the performance of the design

An approximating method for the stabilizing solution of the Hamilton-Jacobi equation for integrable systems using Hamiltonian perturbation theory

In this report, a method for approximating the stabilizing solution of the Hamilton-Jacobi equation for integrable systems is proposed using symplectic geometry and a Hamiltonian perturbation technique. Using the fact that the Hamiltonian lifted system of an integrable system is also integrable, the Hamiltonian system (canonical equation) that is derived from the theory of 1-st order partial differential equations is considered as an integrable Hamiltonian system with a perturbation caused by control. Assuming that the approximating Riccati equation from the Hamilton-Jacobi equation at the origin has a stabilizing solution, we construct approximating behaviors of the Hamiltonian flows on a stable Lagrangian submanifold, from which an approximation to the stabilizing solution is obtained

Stabilisation of state-and-input constrained nonlinear systems via diffeomorphisms: A Sontag's formula approach with an actual application

In this work, we provide a new and constructive outlook for the control of state-and-input constrained nonlinear systems. Previously, explicit solutions have been mainly focused on the finding of a barrier-like Lyapunov function, whereas we propose the construction of a diffeomorphism to map all the trajectories of the constrained dynamics into an unconstrained one. Careful analysis has revealed that only some foundations of differential geometry and a technical assumption are necessary to construct the proposed methodology based on the well-established theories of control Lyapunov functions and Sontag's universal formulae. Altogether, it allows us to obtain an explicit solution that even includes bounded constraints in the control action, giving the designer a way to decide (to some extent) the trade-off between control saturations and robustness. Moreover, this approach does not rely on the own structure of the system dynamics, therefore covering a broad class of nonlinear systems. The main advantage of this approach is that the use of a diffeomorphism allows the splitting of the mathematical treatment of the constraint and the Lyapunov controller design. The result has been successfully applied to solve the dynamic positioning of an actual ship, where the nonlinear state constraints describe a strait. This approach enabled us to design a control Lyapunov function and thereby use Sontag's formula to solve the stabilisation problem. Realistic simulations have been executed in a real scenario on the simulator owned by an international shipbuilding company.Postprint (author's final draft

Analytical Approximation Methods for the Stabilizing Solution of the Hamilton–Jacobi Equation

In this paper, two methods for approximating the stabilizing solution of the Hamilton–Jacobi equation are proposed using symplectic geometry and a Hamiltonian perturbation technique as well as stable manifold theory. The first method uses the fact that the Hamiltonian lifted system of an integrable system is also integrable and regards the corresponding Hamiltonian system of the Hamilton–Jacobi equation as an integrable Hamiltonian system with a perturbation caused by control. The second method directly approximates the stable flow of the Hamiltonian systems using a modification of stable manifold theory. Both methods provide analytical approximations of the stable Lagrangian submanifold from which the stabilizing solution is derived. Two examples illustrate the effectiveness of the methods.

Quantum projection filter for a highly nonlinear model in cavity QED

Both in classical and quantum stochastic control theory a major role is played by the filtering equation, which recursively updates the information state of the system under observation. Unfortunately, the theory is plagued by infinite-dimensionality of the information state which severely limits its practical applicability, except in a few select cases (e.g. the linear Gaussian case.) One solution proposed in classical filtering theory is that of the projection filter. In this scheme, the filter is constrained to evolve in a finite-dimensional family of densities through orthogonal projection on the tangent space with respect to the Fisher metric. Here we apply this approach to the simple but highly nonlinear quantum model of optical phase bistability of a stongly coupled two-level atom in an optical cavity. We observe near-optimal performance of the quantum projection filter, demonstrating the utility of such an approach.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures. A version with high quality images can be found at http://minty.caltech.edu/papers.ph