Search

This paper considers a problem of finding distributed controllers for the multi-agent mass games, that is, to let agents organize themselves into a formation displaying a given grayscale image. As a solution to this problem, we propose distributed hybrid controllers. The key idea is to combine a coverage control method and halftone image processing, i.e., to combine techniques from the control theory and the image processing. The performance of the proposed controllers is demonstrated by numerical experiments with standard images.© 2014 Chinese Automatic Control Society and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We present a performance comparison of SPSA based methods for PID tuning of MIMO systems. [•] The performance is analyzed in terms of the stability of the closed-loop system, tracking performance and computation time. [•] The GSPSA algorithm is the most practical in terms of the stability and the tracking performance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents a broadcast control framework for multi-agent coordination. Here, the “broadcast control” means governing multi-agent systems by sending the same signal to the all agents indiscriminatingly, under the assumption that there is no agent-to-agent communication. The problem considered here is to design the information to be broadcasted and the local actions of the agents, to achieve a given motion-coordination task. For solving this, it is first shown that the local actions have to include randomness for realizing the broadcast control. Based on this, we propose a broadcast control method, where the achievement degree of the task is broadcasted and the agents alternately perform random walk and deterministic walk. The proposed method is proven to asymptotically achieve the task with probability 1. The performance is demonstrated by numerical simulation and experiment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper discusses an optimal design problem of dynamic quantizers for a class of discrete-valued input systems, i.e., linear time-invariant systems actuated by discrete-valued input signals. The quantizers considered here are in the form of a linear difference equation, for which we find a quantizer such that the system composed of a given linear plant and the quantizer is an optimal approximation of the given linear plant in the sense of the input–output relation. First, we derive a closed form expression for the performance of a class of dynamic quantizers. Next, based on the performance analysis, an optimal dynamic quantizer and its performance are provided. This result further shows that even for such discrete-valued input systems, a controller can be easily designed by the existing tools for the linear system design such as robust control theory. Finally, the relation among the optimal dynamic quantizer and two other quantizers, i.e., the receding horizon quantizer and the modulator, is discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper proposes a polynomial-time probabilistic approach to solve the observability problem of sampled-data piecewise affine systems. First, an algebraic characterization for the system to be observable is derived. Next, based on the characterization, we propose a randomized algorithm that can determine if the system is observable in a probabilistic sense or the system is not observable in a deterministic sense. Finally, it is shown with some examples, for which it is hopeless to check the observability in a deterministic way, that the proposed algorithm is very useful. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Optimal switch-time control is an area that investigates how best to switch between different control modes. In this paper we present an algorithm for solving the optimal switch-time control problem for single-switch, linear systems where the state of the system is only partially known through the outputs. A method is presented that both guarantees that the current switch time remains optimal as the state estimates evolve, and that ensures this in a computationally feasible manner, thus rendering the method applicable to real-time applications. An extension is moreover considered where constraints on the switch time provide the observer with sufficient time to settle. The viability of the proposed method is illustrated through a number of examples. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper discusses the optimal control problem of the continuous-time piecewise affine (PWA) systems with sampled-data switching, where the switching action is executed based upon a condition on the state at each sampling time. First, an algebraic characterization for the problem to be feasible is derived. Next, an optimal continuous-time controller is derived for a general class of PWA systems with sampled-data switching, for which the optimal control problem is feasible but whose subsystems in some modes may be uncontrollable in the usual sense. Finally, as an application of the proposed approach, the high-speed and energy-saving control problem of the CPU processing is formulated, and the validity of the proposed methods is shown by numerical simulations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]