Non-fragile H∞ control with randomly occurring gain variations, distributed delays and channel fadings

This study is concerned with the non-fragile H∞ control problem for a class of discrete-time systems subject to randomly occurring gain variations (ROGVs), channel fadings and infinite-distributed delays. A new stochastic phenomenon (ROGVs), which is governed by a sequence of random variables with a certain probabilistic distribution, is put forward to better reflect the reality of the randomly occurring fluctuation of controller gains implemented in networked environments. A modified stochastic Rice fading model is then exploited to account for both channel fadings and random time-delays in a unified representation. The channel coefficients are a set of mutually independent random variables which abide by any (not necessarily Gaussian) probability density function on [0, 1]. Attention is focused on the analysis and design of a non-fragile H∞ outputfeedback controller such that the closed-loop control system is stochastically stable with a prescribed H∞ performance. Through intensive stochastic analysis, sufficient conditions are established for the desired stochastic stability and H∞ disturbance attenuation, and the addressed non-fragile control problem is then recast as a convex optimisation problem solvable via the semidefinite programme method. An example is finally provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed design method

H∞ fault estimation with randomly occurring uncertainties, quantization effects and successive packet dropouts: The finite-horizon case

In this paper, the finite-horizon H∞ fault estimation problem is investigated for a class of uncertain nonlinear time-varying systems subject to multiple stochastic delays. The randomly occurring uncertainties (ROUs) enter into the system due to the random fluctuations of network conditions. The measured output is quantized by a logarithmic quantizer before being transmitted to the fault estimator. Also, successive packet dropouts (SPDs) happen when the quantized signals are transmitted through an unreliable network medium. Three mutually independent sets of Bernoulli-distributed white sequences are introduced to govern the multiple stochastic delays, ROUs and SPDs. By employing the stochastic analysis approach, some sufficient conditions are established for the desired finite-horizon fault estimator to achieve the specified H∞ performance. The time-varying parameters of the fault estimator are obtained by solving a set of recursive linear matrix inequalities. Finally, an illustrative numerical example is provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed fault estimation approach

On general systems with network-enhanced complexities

In recent years, the study of networked control systems (NCSs) has gradually become an active research area due to the advantages of using networked media in many aspects such as the ease of maintenance and installation, the large flexibility and the low cost. It is well known that the devices in networks are mutually connected via communication cables that are of limited capacity. Therefore, some network-induced phenomena have inevitably emerged in the areas of signal processing and control engineering. These phenomena include, but are not limited to, network-induced communication delays, missing data, signal quantization, saturations, and channel fading. It is of great importance to understand how these phenomena influence the closed-loop stability and performance properties

Event-Based H∞ filter design for a class of nonlinear time-varying systems with fading channels and multiplicative noises

In this paper, a general event-triggered framework is developed to deal with the finite-horizon H∞ filtering problem for discrete time-varying systems with fading channels, randomly occurring nonlinearities and multiplicative noises. An event indicator variable is constructed and the corresponding event-triggered scheme is proposed. Such a scheme is based on the relative error with respect to the measurement signal in order to determine whether the measurement output should be transmitted to the filter or not. The fading channels are described by modified stochastic Rice fading models. Some uncorrelated random variables are introduced, respectively, to govern the phenomena of state-multiplicative noises, randomly occurring nonlinearities as well as fading measurements. The purpose of the addressed problem is to design a set of time-varying filter such that the influence from the exogenous disturbances onto the filtering errors is attenuated at the given level quantified by a H∞ norm in the mean-square sense. By utilizing stochastic analysis techniques, sufficient conditions are established to ensure that the dynamic system under consideration satisfies the H∞ filtering performance constraint, and then a recursive linear matrix inequality (RLMI) approach is employed to design the desired filter gains. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed filter design scheme

Finite-horizon estimation of randomly occurring faults for a class of nonlinear time-varying systems

This paper is concerned with the finite-horizon estimation problem of randomly occurring faults for a class of nonlinear systems whose parameters are all time-varying. The faults are assumed to occur in a random way governed by two sets of Bernoulli distributed white sequences. The stochastic nonlinearities entering the system are described by statistical means that can cover several classes of well-studied nonlinearities. The aim of the problem is to estimate the random faults, over a finite horizon, such that the influence from the exogenous disturbances onto the estimation errors is attenuated at the given level quantified by an H∞-norm in the mean square sense. By using the completing squares method and stochastic analysis techniques, necessary and sufficient conditions are established for the existence of the desired finite-horizon H∞ fault estimator whose parameters are then obtained by solving coupled backward recursive Riccati difference equations (RDEs). A simulation example is utilized to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed fault estimation method

H-infinity state estimation for discrete-time complex networks with randomly occurring sensor saturations and randomly varying sensor delays

This is the post-print of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2012 IEEEIn this paper, the state estimation problem is investigated for a class of discrete time-delay nonlinear complex networks with randomly occurring phenomena from sensor measurements. The randomly occurring phenomena include randomly occurring sensor saturations (ROSSs) and randomly varying sensor delays (RVSDs) that result typically from networked environments. A novel sensor model is proposed to describe the ROSSs and the RVSDs within a unified framework via two sets of Bernoulli-distributed white sequences with known conditional probabilities. Rather than employing the commonly used Lipschitz-type function, a more general sector-like nonlinear function is used to describe the nonlinearities existing in the network. The purpose of the addressed problem is to design a state estimator to estimate the network states through available output measurements such that, for all probabilistic sensor saturations and sensor delays, the dynamics of the estimation error is guaranteed to be exponentially mean-square stable and the effect from the exogenous disturbances to the estimation accuracy is attenuated at a given level by means of an $H_{infty}$-norm. In terms of a novel Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional and the Kronecker product, sufficient conditions are established under which the addressed state estimation problem is recast as solving a convex optimization problem via the semidefinite programming method. A simulation example is provided to show the usefulness of the proposed state estimation conditions.This work was supported in part by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) of the U.K. under Grant GR/S27658/01, the Royal Society of the U.K., the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grants 61028008, 61134009, 61104125 and 60974030, the Natural Science Foundation of Universities in Anhui Province of China under Grant KJ2011B030, and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany

Performance analysis with network-enhanced complexities: On fading measurements, event-triggered mechanisms, and cyber attacks

Copyright © 2014 Derui Ding et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Nowadays, the real-world systems are usually subject to various complexities such as parameter uncertainties, time-delays, and nonlinear disturbances. For networked systems, especially large-scale systems such as multiagent systems and systems over sensor networks, the complexities are inevitably enhanced in terms of their degrees or intensities because of the usage of the communication networks. Therefore, it would be interesting to (1) examine how this kind of network-enhanced complexities affects the control or filtering performance; and (2) develop some suitable approaches for controller/filter design problems. In this paper, we aim to survey some recent advances on the performance analysis and synthesis with three sorts of fashionable network-enhanced complexities, namely, fading measurements, event-triggered mechanisms, and attack behaviors of adversaries. First, these three kinds of complexities are introduced in detail according to their engineering backgrounds, dynamical characteristic, and modelling techniques. Then, the developments of the performance analysis and synthesis issues for various networked systems are systematically reviewed. Furthermore, some challenges are illustrated by using a thorough literature review and some possible future research directions are highlighted.This work was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grants 61134009, 61329301, 61203139, 61374127, and 61374010, the Royal Society of the UK, and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany

Research of thoracolumbar spine lateral vascular anatomy and imaging

This study introduces an anatomical basis for surgeries such as thoracoscopeassisted thoracolumbar spinal anterior interbody fusion in terms of image observing and corpse specimen anatomising. The observation of the 3-dimensional computed tomography (CT) image indicates that segmental arteries are visible and run in the central supersulcus of the corresponding vertebral body’s side, while the branches are invisible. The distances between adjacent segmental arteries in T10/11, T11/12, T12/L1, L1/2, and L2/3 are 23.35 ± 1.48, 25.61 ± 2.08, 29.12 ± 2.30, 32.53 ± 2.18, and 33.73 ± 2.29 (mm), respectively. And the observation by the thoracolumbar spine side of the adult corpse specimens shows that segmental arteries and veins constantly exist and run in the central supersulcus of the corresponding vertebral body’s side; each segmental artery has some small branches; the zone between the upper and lower segmental arteries form a relatively non-vascular nerve safe zone, where the intervertebral space (disc) locates. The distances between adjacent segmental arteries in T10/11, T11/12, T12/L1,L1/2,L2/3 are 23.34 ± 0.78, 25.54 ± 0.85, 29.11 ± 1.01, 32.82 ± ± 1.28, and 33.71 ± 1.42 (mm), respectively. The safe zone, with the intervertebral disc as the reference mark, can provide enough operation space for surgeries like thoracoscope-assisted anterior interbody fusion and reducing damage to blood vessels as well as surgical complications. Additionally, the arrangement and distribution of segmental arteries can be clearly displayed on the 3-dimensional CT image and the result is basically consistent with that of corpse specimens. Therefore, the 3-dimensional CT image can be regarded as the reference for video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery plans. (Folia Morphol 2010; 69, 3: 128-133