Robust and Optimal Control of Physical Systems with Networked Communication Structures

具有网络通信结构的物理系统的鲁棒和优化控制

• 批准号: RGPIN-2014-05235
• 负责人: Chen, Xiang
• 金额: $ 2.7万
• 依托单位: University of Windsor
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2017-01-01 至 2018-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=637298
• 关键词: Robust; Optimal; Control; Physical; Systems

There is no doubt that we are in a networked world right now. Many physical, virtual, or hybrid (mixed physical and virtual) systems operate, communicate, or are controlled through different kinds of network structures, wireless or wired. Examples can be given as: internet systems, electric power grids, automotive systems, various sensor networks, etc. The common nature of these networked systems is that they are exhibited as both dynamical systems and networks, i.e., carrying the features of both dynamical systems and networks which brings in both advantages (such as cost reduction for wiring and maintenance, enhanced flexible functions at both system and network levels, etc.) and challenges (such as increased complexities in the interaction among systems or system components, time-sensitive performance compromise due to networked communication, etc. ). For example, on the advantage side, people have seen tremendous reduction of the wiring costs in every automobile nowadays by adopting the Controller Area Network (CAN) bus for critical applications such as engine control and the Local Interconnected Network (LIN) bus for noncritical applications such as power window/seat control; on the challenge aspect, on the other hand, it has already been realized that the networked communication of data among distributed sensors, controllers, and underlying plant systems tends to downgrade the transient dynamical performance of the controlled systems which, if not carefully addressed, could result in the instability of the whole systems. It has been identified that the challenge posed by the communication network is of great interest to many practical time-sensitive industrial systems such as electric power grids, automotive engine control systems, and sensor network, etc. Although this challenge has been attacked in great number of published literature most recently, many important questions remain open, for example, so far one still does not know how to design a controller that could simultaneously address quantizing and noise effects in the network communication channels and regulate the various desired dynamical behaviors of the controlled target systems. Also, some important questions, such as what the networked communication means to the performance of multi-agent systems, how the networked communication would affect the performance of estimation in distributed control systems, and how the networked communication affect the performance of control systems with both time and event-triggered mechanism, etc., still remain untouched, yet these questions are on top of the ‘most-wanted’ list in various industries. In this Discovery Grant proposal, the focus will be on developing systematic design tools to address the time-sensitive performance in physical control systems with networked communication structure. In particular, it is argued that the information theory and control theory should be integrated to generate conceptually new methods to address the said problems and to design robust and optimal control and management mechanisms for the networked dynamical systems. It is also argued that the methods developed would be industrial needs oriented and hence would find their way to be friendly applied in practice.

毫无疑问，我们现在处于一个网络世界，许多物理、虚拟或混合（混合物理和虚拟）系统通过不同类型的网络结构（无线或有线）进行操作、通信或控制。如：互联网系统、电网、汽车系统、各种传感器网络等。这些网络系统的共同点是它们既表现为动力系统又表现为网络，即同时具有动力系统和网络的特征，从而带来两者都有优势（例如成本）减少布线和维护、增强系统和网络层面的灵活功能等）和挑战（例如系统组件之间交互系统的复杂性增加、由于网络通信而导致的时间敏感的性能妥协等）。从优点来看，人们已经看到，如今每辆汽车的布线成本都大幅降低，通过在发动机控制等关键应用中采用控制器局域网 (CAN) 总线，在非关键应用中采用局域互连网络 (LIN) 总线，例如电动车窗/座椅控制；挑战另一方面，人们已经认识到，分布式传感器、控制器和底层工厂系统之间的数据网络通信往往会降低受控系统的瞬态动态性能，如果不仔细解决，可能会导致人们已经认识到，通信网络带来的挑战对于许多实际的时间敏感的工业系统（例如电网、汽车发动机控制系统和传感器网络等）非常重要。最近在大量出版的文献中受到攻击，许多重要的问题仍然悬而未决，例如，到目前为止，人们仍然不知道如何设计一种控制器，该控制器可以同时解决网络通信通道中的量化和噪声效应，并调节受控目标系统的各种所需的动态行为。重要的问题，例如网络通信对多智能体系统的性能意味着什么，网络通信如何影响分布式控制系统的估计性能，以及网络通信如何影响控制系统的时间和事件性能-触发机制等仍然保留未触及，但这些问题是各个行业“最想要”的问题。在这项发现资助提案中，重点将是开发系统设计工具，以解决具有网络通信结构的物理控制系统中的时间敏感性能。特别是，人们认为应该将信息论和控制理论结合起来，以产生概念上的新方法来解决上述问题，并为所开发的网络动力系统设计稳健且最优的控制和管理机制，从而以工业需求为导向。会发现他们的友好方式应用于实践。