The investigation of this paper is introduced by describing an important collection of classes arising from a class which forms the domain of an abstract measure. Characterizations of the different types of classes will be formulated in order to facilitate the construction and the identification of the various classes considered.

The control of nonholonomic wheeled mobile robots (WMRs) has gained a lot of attention in the field of robotics over the past few decades as WMRs provide an increased range of motion resulting in a larger workspace. This research focuses on the application of Model Predictive Control (MPC) for real-time trajectory tracking of a nonholonomic WMR. MPC is a control strategy in which the control law is designed based on optimizing a cost function. The input and output constraints that may arise in practical situations can be directly incorporated into the control system using MPC. Computation time is the biggest hurdle in adapting MPC strategies for trajectory tracking. This research applies a non-feasible active set MPC algorithm developed in [1] which is faster than the traditional active set methods (ASMs). A discrete-time linear model of a general WMR is used for the simulation. MATLAB simulations are performed for tracking circular as well as square trajectories using the discretized WMR model and the non-feasible ASM (NF-ASM). The performance of NF-ASM is compared to two other well-known traditional algorithms, i.e. Fletcher’s ASM and MATLAB’s Quadratic Programming algorithm. It is shown that, although all these algorithms are capable of providing satisfactory trajectory tracking performance, NF-ASM is a better choice in terms of the simulation time and required number of iterations for realtime trajectory tracking of any type as long as the constraints on the inputs stay active for a long period during the simulation. / UOIT

In this thesis we study the problem of stabilizing smooth embedded submanifolds in the state space of smooth, nonlinear, autonomous, deterministic control-affine systems. Our motivation stems from a realization that important applications, such as path following and synchronization, are best understood in the set stabilization framework. Instead of directly attacking the above set stabilization problem, we seek feedback equivalence of the given control system to a normal form that facilitates control design. The process of putting a control system into the normal form of this thesis is called transverse feedback linearization. When feasible, transverse feedback linearization allows for a decomposition of the nonlinear system into a “transverse” and a “tangential” subsystem relative to the goal submanifold. The dynamics of the transverse subsystem determine whether or not the system’s state approaches the submanifold. To ease controller design, we ask that the transverse subsystem be linear time-invariant and controllable. The dynamics of the tangential subsystem determine the motion on the submanifold. The main problem considered in this work, the local transverse feedback linearization problem (LTFLP), asks: when is such a decomposition possible near a point of the goal submanifold? This problem can equivalently be viewed as that of finding a system output with a well-defined relative degree, whose zero dynamics manifold coincides with the goal submanifold. As such, LTFLP can be thought of as the inverse problem to input-output feedback linearization. We present checkable, necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a local coordinate and feedback transformation that puts the given system into the desired normal form. A key ingredient used in the analysis is the new notion of transverse controllability indices of a control system with respect to a set. When the goal submanifold is diffeomorphic to Euclidean space, we present sufficient conditions for feedback equivalence in a tubular neighbourhood of it. These results are used to develop a technique for solving the path following problem. When applied to this problem, transverse feedback linearization decomposes controller design into two separate stages: transversal control design and tangential control design. The transversal control inputs are used to stabilize the path, and effectively generate virtual constraints forcing the system’s output to move along the path. The tangential inputs are used to control the motion along the path. A useful feature of this twostage approach is that the motion on the set can be controlled independently of the set stabilizing control law. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is demonstrated experimentally on a magnetically levitated positioning system. Furthermore, the first satisfactory solution to a problem of longstanding interest, path following for the planar/vertical take-off and landing aircraft model to the unit circle, is presented. This solution, developed in collaboration with Luca Consolini and Mario Tosques at the University of Parma, is made possible by taking a set stabilization point of view.

Sequence alignment has become one of the most common tasks in bioinformatics. Most of the existing sequence alignment methods use general scoring schemes. But these alignments are sometimes not completely relevant because they do not necessarily provide the desired information. It would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to include any possible objective into an algorithm. Our goal is to allow a working biologist to augment a given alignment with additional information based on their knowledge and objectives.<p></p>In this thesis, we will formally define constraints and compatible constraint sets for an alignment which require some positions of the sequences to be aligned together. Using this approach, one can align some specific segments such as domains within protein sequences by inputting constraints (the positions of the segments on the sequences), and the algorithm will automatically find an optimal alignment in which the segments are aligned together.<p></p>A necessary prerequisite of calculating an alignment is that the constraints inputted be compatible with each other, and we will develop algorithms to check this condition for both pairwise and multiple sequence alignments. The algorithms are based on a depth-first search on a graph that is converted from the constraints and the alignment. We then develop algorithms to perform pairwise and multiple sequence alignments satisfying these compatible constraints.<p></p>Using straightforward dynamic programming for pairwise sequence alignment satisfying a compatible constraint set, an optimal alignment corresponds to a path going through the dynamic programming matrix, and as we are only using single-position constraints, a constraint can be represented as a point on the matrix, so a compatible constraint set is a set of points. We try to determine a new path, rather than the original path, that achieves the highest score which goes through all the compatible constraint set points. The path is a concatenation of sub-paths, so that only the scores in the sub-matrices need to be calculated. This means the time required to get the new path decreases as the number of constraints increases, and it also varies as the positions of the points change. It can be further reduced by using the information from the original alignment, which can offer a significant speed gain.<p></p>We then use exact and progressive algorithms to find multiple sequence alignments satisfying a compatible constraint set, which are extensions of pairwise sequence alignments. With exact algorithms for three sequences, where constraints are represented as lines, we discuss a method to force the optimal path to cross the constraint lines. And with progressive algorithms, we use a set of pairwise alignments satisfying compatible constraints to construct multiple sequence alignments progressively. Because they are more complex, we leave some extensions as future work.

This thesis investigates the set stabilization problem for systems with Lie group symmetry. Initially, we examine left-invariant systems on Lie groups where the target set is a left or right coset of a closed subgroup. We broaden the scope to systems defined on smooth manifolds that are invariant under a Lie group action. Inspired by the solution of this problem for linear time-invariant systems, we show its equivalence to an equilibrium stabilization problem for a suitable quotient control system. We provide necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of the quotient control system and analyze various properties of such a system. This theory is applied to the formation stabilization of three kinematic unicycles, the path stabilization of a particle in a gravitational field, and the conversion and temperature control of a continuously stirred tank reactor.

This thesis investigates the set stabilization problem for systems with Lie group symmetry. Initially, we examine left-invariant systems on Lie groups where the target set is a left or right coset of a closed subgroup. We broaden the scope to systems defined on smooth manifolds that are invariant under a Lie group action. Inspired by the solution of this problem for linear time-invariant systems, we show its equivalence to an equilibrium stabilization problem for a suitable quotient control system. We provide necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of the quotient control system and analyze various properties of such a system. This theory is applied to the formation stabilization of three kinematic unicycles, the path stabilization of a particle in a gravitational field, and the conversion and temperature control of a continuously stirred tank reactor.

The investigation of this thesis is introduced by finding all the relationships existing among the various types of set functions. Characterizations of the different set functions will be formulated in order to facilitate the construction and identification of each type of set function considered. This problem has important applications to measure theory and integration.Ball State UniversityMuncie, IN 47306

In this thesis we study the problem of stabilizing smooth embedded submanifolds in the state space of smooth, nonlinear, autonomous, deterministic control-affine systems. Our motivation stems from a realization that important applications, such as path following and synchronization, are best understood in the set stabilization framework. Instead of directly attacking the above set stabilization problem, we seek feedback equivalence of the given control system to a normal form that facilitates control design. The process of putting a control system into the normal form of this thesis is called transverse feedback linearization. When feasible, transverse feedback linearization allows for a decomposition of the nonlinear system into a “transverse” and a “tangential” subsystem relative to the goal submanifold. The dynamics of the transverse subsystem determine whether or not the system’s state approaches the submanifold. To ease controller design, we ask that the transverse subsystem be linear time-invariant and controllable. The dynamics of the tangential subsystem determine the motion on the submanifold. The main problem considered in this work, the local transverse feedback linearization problem (LTFLP), asks: when is such a decomposition possible near a point of the goal submanifold? This problem can equivalently be viewed as that of finding a system output with a well-defined relative degree, whose zero dynamics manifold coincides with the goal submanifold. As such, LTFLP can be thought of as the inverse problem to input-output feedback linearization. We present checkable, necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a local coordinate and feedback transformation that puts the given system into the desired normal form. A key ingredient used in the analysis is the new notion of transverse controllability indices of a control system with respect to a set. When the goal submanifold is diffeomorphic to Euclidean space, we present sufficient conditions for feedback equivalence in a tubular neighbourhood of it. These results are used to develop a technique for solving the path following problem. When applied to this problem, transverse feedback linearization decomposes controller design into two separate stages: transversal control design and tangential control design. The transversal control inputs are used to stabilize the path, and effectively generate virtual constraints forcing the system’s output to move along the path. The tangential inputs are used to control the motion along the path. A useful feature of this twostage approach is that the motion on the set can be controlled independently of the set stabilizing control law. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is demonstrated experimentally on a magnetically levitated positioning system. Furthermore, the first satisfactory solution to a problem of longstanding interest, path following for the planar/vertical take-off and landing aircraft model to the unit circle, is presented. This solution, developed in collaboration with Luca Consolini and Mario Tosques at the University of Parma, is made possible by taking a set stabilization point of view.

The study of combinatorial patterns of words has raised great interest since the early 20th century. In this master's thesis presentation we study two combinatorial patterns. The first pattern is “abelian k-th power free” and the second one is “representability of sets of words of equal length”. For the first pattern we study the context-freeness of non-abelian k-th powers. A word is a non-abelian k-th power if it cannot be factorized in the form w1w2...wk where the wi are permutations of w1 for 2 ≤ i ≤ k. We show that neither the language of non-abelian squares nor the language of non- abelian cubes is context-free. For the second pattern we study the representability of a set of words of fixed length. A set S of words of length n is representable if there exists some word w such that the set of length-n factors of w equals S. We will give lower and upper bounds for the number of such representable sets. Furthermore, we study a variation of the problem: we fix a length t, and try to evaluate the number of sets of words of length n such that there exists some word w of length t such that the set of length-n factors of w equals S. We give a closed-form formula in the case where n ≤ t < 2n. In particular, we give a characterization on two distinct words having the same subset of length-n factors.

This thesis discusses how to use topology and shape optimization, specifically the level set method, for innovative design. The level set method is a numerical algorithm that simulates the expansion of dynamic implicit surfaces. In this research, the equations for manufacturability are generated and solved through use of the level set method joined with the COMSOL multi-physics package. Specific constraints are added to make the optimization practical for engineering design. The resulting method was applied to design the best underlying support structure, conforming to both curvature and manufacturability constraints, for the longerons used with the International Space Station solar panels.