Fundamental Issues and Prospective Directions in Networked Multirate Control Systems

In view of the synchronized uniform equidistant sampling method that is widely used in network control systems (NCSs), multirate sampling control for NCSs is presented by considering the natural characteristics of NCSs. Two kinds of typical structures of network multirate control systems (NMCSs) are presented and the multirate sampling mechanisms are formulated. Then, fundamental issues and prospective directions in NMCSs are preliminarily discussed. The contents involve modeling, sampling pattern selection, control strategies, scheduling algorithms, and codesign of NMCSs. The purpose of this paper is to arouse more attention of researchers in related subjects, so that a complete theory for NCSs can be established.