Showing papers in "International Journal of Control in 2012"

Nonlinear disturbance observer based control for multi-input multi-output nonlinear systems subject to mismatching condition

Abstract: For a multi-input multi-output (MIMO) nonlinear system, the existing disturbance observer-based control (DOBC) only provides solutions to those whose disturbance relative degree (DRD) is higher than or equal to its input relative degree. By designing a novel disturbance compensation gain matrix, a generalised nonlinear DOBC method is proposed in this article to solve the disturbance attenuation problem of the MIMO nonlinear system with arbitrary DRD. It is shown that the disturbances are able to be removed from the output channels by the proposed method with appropriately chosen control parameters. The property of nominal performance recovery, which is the major merit of the DOBCs, is retained with the proposed method. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method are demonstrated by simulation studies of both the numerical and application examples.

Consensus of heterogeneous multi-agent systems without velocity measurements

Abstract: This article considers the consensus problem of heterogeneous multi-agent system composed of first-order and second-order agents, in which the second-order integrator agents cannot obtain the velocity (second state) measurements for feedback. Two different consensus protocols are proposed. First, we propose a consensus protocol and discuss the consensus problem of heterogeneous multi-agent system. By applying the graph theory and the Lyapunov direct method, some sufficient conditions for consensus are established when the communication topologies are undirected connected graphs and leader-following networks. Second, due to actuator saturation, we propose another consensus protocol with input constraint and obtain the consensus criterions for heterogeneous multi-agent system. Finally, some examples are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the obtained criterions.

Formation shape control based on bearing rigidity

Abstract: Distance measurements are not the only geometric quantities that can be used for multi-agent formation shape control. Bearing measurements can be used in conjunction with distances. This article employs bearing rigidity for mobile formations, which was developed for robot and sensor network localisation, so that bearings can be used for shape control in mobile formations. The first part of this article examines graph theoretical models for formation network analysis and control law design that are needed to maintain the shape of a formation in two-dimensional space, while the formation moves as a cohesive whole. Bearing-based shape control for a formation of mobile agents involves the design of distributed control laws that ensure the formation moves, so that bearing constraints maintain some desired values. The second part of this article focuses on the design of a distributed control scheme for nonholonomic agents to solve the bearing-based formation shape control problem. In particular, a control law u...

Consensus and its ℒ 2 -gain performance of multi-agent systems with intermittent information transmissions

Abstract: This article addresses the consensus problem for cooperative multiple agents with nonlinear dynamics on a fixed directed information network, where each agent can only communicate with its neighbours intermittently. A class of control algorithms is first introduced, using only intermittent relative local information. By combining tools from switching systems and Lyapunov stability theory, some sufficient conditions are established for consensus of multi-agent systems without any external disturbances under a fixed strongly connected topology. Theoretical analyses are further provided for consensus of multi-agent systems in the presence of external disturbances. It is shown that a finite ℒ2-gain performance index for the closed-loop multi-agent systems can be guaranteed if the coupling strength of the network is larger than a threshold value determined by the average communication rate and the generalised algebraic connectivity of the strongly connected topology. The results are then extended to consensus ...

Leader-following formation control of multi-agent systems under fixed and switching topologies

Abstract: In this article, two kinds of leader-following formation control problems for second-order nonlinear multi-agent systems are investigated, that is, the cases with fixed topology and with switching topology. For the former, by constructing an appropriate Lyapunov functional and utilising linear matrix inequality (LMI) method, we propose a formation control algorithm which makes the nonlinear multi-agent systems converge to a desired formation. In addition, a formation control algorithm is also developed for coupled double-integrators with a constant reference velocity. Then we extend these results to the case when the interaction topology is switching. Numerical simulations are presented finally to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed results.

A flexible distributed framework for realising electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle charging policies

Abstract: Motivated by the problems of charging a number of electric vehicles via limited capacity infrastructure, this article considers the problem of individual load adjustment under a total capacity constraint. For reasons of scalability and simplified communications, distributed solutions to this problem are sought. Borrowing from communication networks (AIMD algorithms) and distributed convex optimisation, we describe a number of distributed algorithms for achieving relative average fairness whilst maximising utilisation. We present analysis and simulation results to show the performance of these algorithms. In the scenarios examined, the algorithm's performance is typically within 5% of that achievable in the ideal centralised case, but with greatly enhanced scalability and reduced communication requirements.

Distributed consensus of heterogeneous multi-agent systems with fixed and switching topologies

Abstract: In this article, we study distributed consensus of heterogeneous multi-agent systems with fixed and switching topologies. The analysis is based on graph theory and nonnegative matrix theory. We propose two kinds of consensus protocols based on the consensus protocol of first-order and second-order multi-agent systems. Some necessary and sufficient conditions that the heterogeneous multi-agent system solves the consensus problems under different consensus protocols are presented with fixed topology. We also give some sufficient conditions for consensus of the heterogeneous multi-agent system with switching topology. Simulation examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results.

Distributed H ∞ consensus of multi-agent systems: a performance region-based approach

Abstract: This article addresses the distributed H ∞ consensus problem of multi-agent systems with general linear node dynamics using relative output measurements. The notion of H ∞ consensus performance region is first introduced and then analysed as a basis for the protocol design. A new kind of distributed observer-type H ∞ protocols is further proposed. Theoretical analysis indicates that the distributed H ∞ consensus problem can be solved if and only if the coupling strength of the protocol belongs to the H ∞ performance region of the closed-loop network. Finally, some numerical simulations are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results.

Robust consensus algorithm for second-order multi-agent systems with external disturbances

Abstract: This article investigates the problem of robust consensus for second-order multi-agent systems with external disturbances. Based on a non-smooth backstepping control technique, a class of novel continuous non-smooth consensus algorithms are proposed for the multi-agent network with/without communication delays. The controller design is divided into two steps. First, for the kinematic subsystem, the velocity is regarded as a virtual input and designed such that the states consensus can be achieved asymptotically. Then for the dynamic subsystem, a finite-time control law is designed such that the virtual velocity can be tracked by the real velocity in a finite time. Under the proposed control law, it is shown that if the communication topology graph contains a directed spanning tree, the states consensus can be achieved asymptotically in the absence of disturbances. In the presence of disturbances, the steady-state errors of any two agents can reach a small region around the origin. By building a relationsh...

Distributed robust control of linear multi-agent systems with parameter uncertainties

Abstract: This article considers the distributed robust control problems of uncertain linear multi-agent systems with undirected communication topologies. It is assumed that the agents have identical nominal dynamics while subject to different norm-bounded parameter uncertainties, leading to weakly heterogeneous multi-agent systems. Distributed controllers are designed for both continuous- and discrete-time multi-agent systems, based on the relative states of neighbouring agents and a subset of absolute states of the agents. It is shown for both the continuous- and discrete-time cases that the distributed robust control problems under such controllers in the sense of quadratic stability are equivalent to the H ∞ control problems of a set of decoupled linear systems having the same dimensions as a single agent. A two-step algorithm is presented to construct the distributed controller for the continuous-time case, which does not involve any conservatism and meanwhile decouples the feedback gain design from the commun...

Event-based control with communication delays and packet losses

Abstract: Event-based control aims at reducing the information exchange over the communication network in feedback-control systems. This article extends a state-feedback approach to event-based control to cope with communication delays and packet losses in the feedback link. The main result is a bound for the maximum tolerable communication delay, which guarantees that the event-based state-feedback loop is stable in the sense that its state remains in a bounded surrounding of the state of a continuous-time state-feedback loop. This result is extended to communication links with additional packet losses. Simulation studies and experimental results illustrate the performance of the event-based control loop.

Learning impedance control for physical robot–environment interaction

Abstract: In this article, learning impedance control is proposed for physical robot–environment interaction. Learning mechanism is developed such that the knowledge of the robot structure is not required. With the developed method, the dynamics of the robot arm is governed to follow a target impedance model and the interaction control objective is achieved. The control performance is discussed through the rigorous analysis. The validity of the proposed method is verified by simulation studies.

Distributed fault diagnosis in a class of interconnected nonlinear uncertain systems

Abstract: In this article, a distributed fault detection and isolation (FDI) method is developed for a class of interconnected nonlinear uncertain systems. In the distributed FDI architecture, a FDI component is designed for each subsystem in the interconnected system. For each subsystem, its corresponding local FDI component is designed by utilising local measurements and certain communicated information from neighbouring FDI components associated with subsystems that are directly interconnected to the particular subsystem under consideration. Under certain assumptions, adaptive thresholds for distributed FDI in each subsystem are derived, ensuring robustness with respect to interactions among subsystems and system modelling uncertainty. Moreover, the fault detectability and isolability conditions are rigorously investigated, characterising the class of faults in each subsystem that are detectable and isolable by the proposed distributed FDI method. Additionally, the stability and learning capability of the local ...

Controllability analysis of multi-agent systems with directed and weighted interconnection

Abstract: In this article, we investigate the controllability of multi-agent systems with leaders as control inputs, where the interconnection is directed and weighted. We employ weight-balanced partition to classify the interconnection graphs, and study the controllable subspaces with given nontrivial weight-balanced partition. We also provide two necessary and sufficient graph conditions on structural controllability and strong structural controllability. Moreover, we consider the effect of the zero row-sum restrictions of the system matrices on structural controllability.

Approximate controllability of partial neutral functional differential systems of fractional order with state-dependent delay

Abstract: We prove the approximate controllability of control systems governed by a class of partial neutral functional differential systems of fractional order with state-dependent delay in an abstract space. Sufficient conditions for approximate controllability of the control systems are established provided the approximate controllability of the corresponding linear control systems. The results are obtained by using the Krasnoselskii–Schaefer type fixed point theorem with the fractional power of operators. An example is provided to illustrate the main results.

Assessment of non-centralised model predictive control techniques for electrical power networks

Abstract: Model predictive control (MPC) is one of the few advanced control methodologies that have proven to be very successful in real-life applications. An attractive feature of MPC is its capability of explicitly taking state and input constraints into account. Recently, there has been an increasing interest in the usage of MPC schemes to control electrical power networks. The major obstacle for implementation lies in the large scale of these systems, which is prohibitive for a centralised approach. In this article, we therefore assess and compare the suitability of several non-centralised predictive control schemes for power balancing, to provide valuable insights that can contribute to the successful implementation of non-centralised MPC in the real-life electrical power system.

The trajectory tracking problem for an unmanned four-rotor system: flatness-based approach

Abstract: In this article we present a flatness-based controller that solves the trajectory tracking problem for an unmanned four-rotor aircraft. A simple version of the dynamical system obtained from a suitable coordinate transformation of the Euler–Lagrange model of the system is used. This model, combined with a suitable input saturation nonlinearity, also avoids the inconvenient system singularities. The corresponding tracking error is shown to be globally asymptotically stable but only locally exponentially stable, while the controller maintains the four-rotor system motions inside a feasible region. Numerical simulations are presented to assesses the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.

Robust stability and control for uncertain neutral time delay systems

Abstract: In this article, the problem of robust stability and stabilisation for a class of uncertain neutral systems with discrete and distributed time delays is considered. By utilising a new Lyapunov functional based on the idea of delay partitioning approach, we employ the linear matrix inequality technique to derive delay-dependent criteria which ensures the robust stability of uncertain neutral systems. The obtained stability conditions are formulated in terms of linear matrix inequalities that can easily be solved by using standard software packages. Further, the result is extended to study the robust stabilisation for uncertain neutral systems with parameter uncertainties. A state feedback controller is proposed to guarantee the robust asymptotic stabilisation for uncertain systems and the controller is constructed in terms of the solution to a set of matrix inequalities. Finally, numerical examples are presented to illustrate the effectiveness and conservatism of the obtained results. It is shown that the ...

Fault Detection for Discrete-Time Switched Systems with Intermittent Measurements

Abstract: This chapter deals with the problem of FD for discrete-time switched systems with intermittent measurements. The stochastic variable is assumed to be a Bernoulli distributed white sequence appearing in measured output. Attention is focused on designing a FD filter such that, for any control input and unknown inputs, the estimation error between the residual and the fault is minimized in the sense of H ∞ norm. By employing a Lyapunov-like function and ADT technique, a sufficient condition for the existence of such a filter is exploited in terms of certain LMIs. Finally, an example is provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Model predictive control of constrained LPV systems

Abstract: This article considers robust model predictive control (MPC) schemes for linear parameter varying (LPV) systems in which the time-varying parameter is assumed to be measured online and exploited for feedback. A closed-loop MPC with a parameter-dependent control law is proposed first. The parameter-dependent control law reduces conservativeness of the existing results with a static control law at the cost of higher computational burden. Furthermore, an MPC scheme with prediction horizon ‘1’ is proposed to deal with the case of asymmetric constraints. Both approaches guarantee recursive feasibility and closed-loop stability if the considered optimisation problem is feasible at the initial time instant.

Nonlinear H ∞ control of a Quadrotor (UAV), using high order sliding mode disturbance estimator

Abstract: A nonlinear H ∞ output feedback controller is proposed and coupled to a high-order sliding mode estimator to regulate an UAV in the presence of the unmatched perturbations. The plant to be controlled is a Quadrotor helicopter described by nonlinear dynamics with plant uncertainties due to the variations of inertia moments and payload operation. A robust state estimation is considered under model uncertainties as well as external/measurement disturbances. Performance issues of the controller are illustrated in a simulation study made for an UAV prototype.

Nonlinear complementary filters on the special linear group

Abstract: This article proposes a nonlinear complementary filter for the special linear Lie-group SL(3) that fuses low-frequency state measurements with partial velocity measurements and adaptive estimation of unmeasured slowly changing velocity components. The obtained results have direct application on the problem of filtering a sequence of image homographies acquired from low-quality video data. The considered application motivates us to derive results that provide adaptive estimation of the full group velocity or part of the group velocity that cannot be measured from sensors attached to the camera. We demonstrate the performance of the proposed filters on real world homography data.

Nonlinear generalised dynamic inversion for aircraft manoeuvring control

Abstract: The nonlinear control problem of aircraft trajectory tracking is tackled in the framework of multiple linear time-varying constrained control using the newly developed paradigm of generalised dynamic inversion. The time differential forms of the multiple constraints encapsulate the control objectives, and are inverted to obtain the reference trajectory-realising control law. The inversion process utilises the Moore–Penrose generalised inverse and the associated nullspace projection, and it predictably involves the problematic generalised inversion singularity. Thus, a singularity avoidance scheme based on a new type of dynamically scaled generalised inverses is introduced that guarantees both asymptotically stable tracking and singularity avoidance. The steady-state closed-loop system allows for two inherently noninterfering control actions working towards a unified goal to exploit the aircraft's control authority over the entire state space. One control action is performed by the particular part of the c...

Wind turbine integrated structural and LPV control design for improved closed-loop performance

Abstract: An iterative redesign algorithm is proposed to integrate the design of the structural parameters and a linear parameter-varying (LPV) controller for a three-bladed horizontal-axis wind turbine. The LPV controller is designed for an eighth-order lumped model of the wind turbine consisting of blades, drive-train and the tower. The lumped model response is matched with detailed open-loop numerical simulations using the Fatigue, Aerodynamics, Structures and Turbulence (FAST) code. The controller is scheduled in real-time based on the mean wind speed to account for the varying system dynamics. The objective is to track the operating trajectory meanwhile minimise the H ∞ performance index from the wind turbulence to the controlled output vector consisting of pitch angle, blade tip deflection, and the generator speed and torque. Sensitivity analysis of the closed-loop performance index with respect to the structural parameters of the system is examined. The integrated design problem is formulated as an iterative...

An improved state-space model structure and a corresponding predictive functional control design with improved control performance

Abstract: Conventional state-space model predictive control requires a state estimator/observer to access the state information for feedback controller design. Its drawbacks are the numerical convergence stability of the observer and closed-loop control performance deterioration with activated plant input/output constraints. The recent direct use of measured input and output variables to formulate a non-minimal state-space (NMSS) model overcomes these problems, but the subsequent controller is too sensitive to model mismatch. In this article, an improved structure of NMSS model that incorporates the output-tracking error is first formulated and then a subsequent predictive functional control design is proposed. The proposed controller is tested on both model match and model mismatch cases for comparison with previous controllers. Results show that control performance is improved. In addition, a linear programming method for constraints dealing and a closed form of transfer function representation of the control sys...

Anti-viral drug treatment along with immune activator IL-2: a control-based mathematical approach for HIV infection

Abstract: Recent development in antiretroviral treatment against HIV can help AIDS patients to fight against HIV. But the question that whether the disease is to be partially or totally eradicated from HIV infected individuals still remains unsolved. Usually, the most effective treatment for the disease is HAART which can only control the disease progression. But as the immune system becomes weak, the patients can not fight against other diseases. Immune cells are activated and proliferated by IL-2 after the identification of antigen. IL-2 production is impaired in HIV positive patients and intermitted administration of immune activator IL-2 together with HAART which is a more effective treatment to fight against the disease. Thus, its expediency is essential and is yet to be explored. In this article we anticipated a mathematical model of the effect of IL-2 together with RTIs therapy in HIV positive patients. Our analytical as well as numerical study shows that the optimal schedule of treatment for best result is ...

Initial alignment for nonlinear inertial navigation systems with multiple disturbances based on enhanced anti-disturbance filtering

Abstract: Initial alignment for inertial navigation system (INS) has been widely used in practice under the assumption of Gaussian noises. In most previous works, nonlinear dynamics was ignored and the disturbances were merged into either a Gaussian or norm-bounded variable, where the Kalman filtering or robust filtering can be applied, respectively. In this article, the unmodelled nonlinear dynamics, drifts, parametric uncertainties, as well as other disturbances are considered simultaneously and are formulated into different types of uncertain disturbances described by the exo-system, stochastic and norm-bounded variable, respectively. A nonlinear initial alignment approach for INS is first presented based on a new disturbance attenuation and rejection filtering scheme against multiple disturbances. The INS error model with both nonlinear dynamics and multiple disturbances is established and the initial alignment problem is transformed into a robust nonlinear filter design problem for a class of nonlinear systems...

Traffic modelling framework for electric vehicles

Abstract: This article reviews and improves a recently proposed model of road network dynamics. The model is also adapted and generalised to represent the patterns of battery consumption of electric vehicles travelling in the road network. Simulations from the mobility simulator SUMO are given to support and to illustrate the efficacy of the proposed approach. Applications relevant in the field of electric vehicles, such as optimal routing and traffic load control, are provided to illustrate how the proposed model can be used to address typical problems arising in contemporary road network planning and electric vehicle mobility.

Robust tracking control for a class of electrically driven flexible-joint robots without velocity measurements

Abstract: This article addresses the motion tracking control for a class of flexible-joint robotic manipulators actuated by brushed direct current motors This class of electrically driven flexible-joint robots is perturbed by time-varying parametric uncertainties and external disturbances A novel observer-based robust dynamic feedback tracking controller without velocity measurements will be developed such that the resulting closed-loop system is locally stable, all the states and signals are bounded and the trajectory tracking errors can be made as small as possible Only the measurements of link position and armature current are required for feedback and so the number of sensors in the practical implementation of the developed control scheme can be greatly reduced The observer structure is of reduced order in the sense that the observer is constructed only to estimate the velocity signals and whose dimension is half of the dimension of flexible-joint robots Especially, for the set-point regulation problem, th

A predictive control scheme for systems with variable time-delay

Abstract: This article deals with the robust control design problem for linear time invariant systems affected by variable feedback delay. Constraints on the system state are considered in the system description. The starting point is the construction of a predictive control law which guarantees the existence of a nonempty robust positive invariant (RPI) set with respect to the closed-loop dynamics. Subsequently, an iterative algorithm is proposed in order to obtain an approximation of the maximal RPI set. The problem can be treated in the framework of piecewise affine systems due to the explicit formulations of the control law obtained via multiparametric programming.