Current Trends in Nonlinear Systems and Control

Book excerpt: This volume is an outgrowth of the workshop "Applications of Advanced Control Theory to Robotics and Automation," organized in honor of the 70th birthdays of Petar V. Kokotovic and Salvatore Nicosia. Both Petar and Turi have carried out distinguished work in the control community, and have long been recognized as mentors as well as experts and pioneers in the field of automatic control, covering many topics in control theory and several different applications. The variety of their research is reflected in this book, which includes contributions ranging from mathematics to laboratory experiments.Main topics covered include:* Observer design for time-delay systems, nonlinear systems, and identification for different classes of systems* Lyapunov tools for linear differential inclusions, control of constrained systems, and finite-time stability concepts* New studies of robot manipulators, parameter identification, and different control problems for mobile robots* Applications of modern control techniques to port-controlled Hamiltonian systems, different classes of vehicles, and web handling systems* Applications of the max-plus algebra to system-order reduction; optimal machine scheduling problems; and inventory control with cooperation between retailers* Control of linear and nonlinear networked control systems: deterministic and stochastic approachesThe scope of the work is very broad, and although each chapter is self-contained, the book has been organized into thematically related chapters, which in some cases suggest to the reader a convenient reading sequence. The great variety of topics covered and the almost tutorial writing style used by many of the authors will make this book suitable for experts, as well as young researchers who seek a more intuitive understanding of these relevant topics in the field.