Homogeneity in the bi-limit as a tool for observer and feedback design

International audienceWe introduce an extension of the notion of homogeneous approximation to make it valid both at the origin and at infinity (homogeneity in the bi-limit). Exploiting this extension, we give several results concerning stability, robustness and uniform (in the initial condition) finite time convergence for a homogeneous in the bi-limit vector field. We then introduce a homogeneous in the bi-limit observer and state-feedback for a chain of integrators. Combining these two tools we establish a global asymptotic stabilization result by output feedback for feedback and feedforward systems. We obtain also a finite time observer for globally Lipschitz system

Robust exact differentiators with predefined convergence time

The problem of exactly differentiating a signal with bounded second derivative is considered. A class of differentiators is proposed, which converge to the derivative of such a signal within a fixed, i.e., a finite and uniformly bounded convergence time. A tuning procedure is derived that allows to assign an arbitrary, predefined upper bound for this convergence time. It is furthermore shown that this bound can be made arbitrarily tight by appropriate tuning. The usefulness of the procedure is demonstrated by applying it to the well-known uniform robust exact differentiator, which the considered class of differentiators includes as a special case

On the least upper bound for the settling time of a class of fixed-time stable systems

This paper deals with the convergence time analysis of a class of fixed-time stable systems with the aim to provide a new non-conservative upper bound for its settling time. Our contribution is threefold. First, we revisit a well-known class of fixed-time stable systems showing the conservatism of the classical upper estimate of the settling time. Second, we provide the smallest constant that uniformly upper bounds the settling time of any trajectory of the system under consideration. Then, introducing a slight modification of the previous class of fixed-time systems, we propose a new predefined-time convergent algorithm where the least upper bound of the settling time is set a priori as a parameter of the system. This calculation is a valuable contribution toward online differentiators, observers, and controllers in applications with real-time constraints

Control of flexible joint robotic manipulator using tuning functions design

The goal of this thesis is to design the controller for a single arm manipulator having a flexible joint for the tracking problem in two different cases. A controller is designed for a deterministic case wherein the plant parameters are assumed to be known while another is designed for an adaptive case where all the plant parameters are assumed to be unknown. In general the tracking problem is; given a smooth reference trajectory, the end effector has to track the reference while maintaining the stability. It is assumed that only the output of the manipulator, which is the link angle, is available for measurement. Also without loss of generality, the fast dynamics, that is the dynamics of the driver side of the system are neglected for the sake of simplicity; In the first case, the design procedure adopted is called observer backstepping. Since the states of the system are unavailable for measurement, an observer is designed that estimates the system states. These estimates are fed to the controller which in turn produces the control input to the system; The second case employs a design procedure called tuning functions design. In this case, since the plant parameters are unknown, the observer designed in case one cannot be used for determining the state estimates. For this purpose, parameter update laws and filters are designed for estimation of plant parameters. The filters employed are k-filters. The k-filters and the parameter update laws are given as input to the controller, which generates the control input to the system; For both cases, the mathematical models are simulated using Matlab/Simulink, and the results are verified

Observers for discrete-time nonlinear systems

Observer synthesis for discrete-time nonlinear systems with special applications to parameter estimation is analyzed. Two new types of observers are developed. The first new observer is an adaptation of the Friedland continuous-time parameter estimator to discrete-time systems. The second observer is an adaptation of the continuous-time Gauthier observer to discrete-time systems. By adapting these observers to discrete-time continuous-time parameter estimation problems which were formerly intractable become tractable. In addition to the two newly developed observers, two observers already described in the literature are analyzed and deficiencies with respect to noise rejection are demonstrated. improved versions of these observers are proposed and their performance demonstrated. The issues of discrete-time observability, discrete-time system inversion, and optimal probing are also addressed