32,402 research outputs found
Opportunities for aircraft controls research
Several problems which drive aircraft control technology are discussed. Highly unstable vehicles, flutter speed boundary expansion, and low level automated flight that follows terrain are discussed
Control optimization, stabilization and computer algorithms for aircraft applications
The analysis and design of complex multivariable reliable control systems are considered. High performance and fault tolerant aircraft systems are the objectives. A preliminary feasibility study of the design of a lateral control system for a VTOL aircraft that is to land on a DD963 class destroyer under high sea state conditions is provided. Progress in the following areas is summarized: (1) VTOL control system design studies; (2) robust multivariable control system synthesis; (3) adaptive control systems; (4) failure detection algorithms; and (5) fault tolerant optimal control theory
Optimal Universal Controllers for Roll Stabilization
Roll stabilization is an important problem of ship motion control. This
problem becomes especially difficult if the same set of actuators (e.g. a
single rudder) has to be used for roll stabilization and heading control of the
vessel, so that the roll stabilizing system interferes with the ship autopilot.
Finding the "trade-off" between the concurrent goals of accurate vessel
steering and roll stabilization usually reduces to an optimization problem,
which has to be solved in presence of an unknown wave disturbance. Standard
approaches to this problem (loop-shaping, LQG, -control etc.)
require to know the spectral density of the disturbance, considered to be a
\colored noise". In this paper, we propose a novel approach to optimal roll
stabilization, approximating the disturbance by a polyharmonic signal with
known frequencies yet uncertain amplitudes and phase shifts. Linear quadratic
optimization problems in presence of polyharmonic disturbances can be solved by
means of the theory of universal controllers developed by V.A. Yakubovich. An
optimal universal controller delivers the optimal solution for any uncertain
amplitudes and phases. Using Marine Systems Simulator (MSS) Toolbox that
provides a realistic vessel's model, we compare our design method with
classical approaches to optimal roll stabilization. Among three controllers
providing the same quality of yaw steering, OUC stabilizes the roll motion most
efficiently
Extending Feynman's Formalisms for Modelling Human Joint Action Coordination
The recently developed Life-Space-Foam approach to goal-directed human action
deals with individual actor dynamics. This paper applies the model to
characterize the dynamics of co-action by two or more actors. This dynamics is
modelled by: (i) a two-term joint action (including cognitive/motivatonal
potential and kinetic energy), and (ii) its associated adaptive path integral,
representing an infinite--dimensional neural network. Its feedback adaptation
loop has been derived from Bernstein's concepts of sensory corrections loop in
human motor control and Brooks' subsumption architectures in robotics.
Potential applications of the proposed model in human--robot interaction
research are discussed.
Keywords: Psycho--physics, human joint action, path integralsComment: 6 pages, Late
Proportional-integral-plus (PIP) control of time delay systems
The paper shows that the digital proportional-integral-plus (PIP) controller formulated within the context of non-minimum state space (NMSS) control system design methodology is directly equivalent, under certain non-restrictive pole assignment conditions, to the equivalent digital Smith predictor (SP) control system for time delay systems. This allows SP controllers to be considered within the context of NMSS state variable feedback control, so that optimal design methods can be exploited to enhance the performance of the SP controller. Alternatively, since the PIP design strategy provides a more flexible approach, which subsumes the SP controller as one option, it provides a superior basis for general control system design. The paper also discusses the robustness and disturbance response characteristics of the two PIP control structures that emerge from the analysis and demonstrates the efficacy of the design methods through simulation examples and the design of a climate control system for a large horticultural glasshouse system
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