Controllability and stabilisability are two fundamental properties of control systems and it is intuitively appealing to conjecture that the former should imply the latter; especially so when the state of a control system is assumed to be known at every time instant. Such an implication can, indeed, be proven for certain types of controllability and stabilisability, and certain classes of control systems. In the present thesis, we consider real analytic control systems of the form $\Sgr:\dot{x}=f(x,u)$, with $x$ in a real analytic manifold and $u$ in a separable metric space, and we show that, under mild technical assumptions, small-time local controllability from an equilibrium $p$ of \Sgr\ implies the existence of a piecewise analytic feedback \Fscr\ that asymptotically stabilises \Sgr\ at $p$. As a corollary to this result, we show that nonlinear control systems with controllable unstable dynamics and stable uncontrollable dynamics are feedback stabilisable, extending, thus, a classical result of linear control theory. Next, we modify the proof of the existence of \Fscr\ to show stabilisability of small-time locally controllable systems in finite time, at the expense of obtaining a closed-loop system that may not be Lyapunov stable. Having established stabilisability in finite time, we proceed to prove a converse-Lyapunov theorem. If \Fscr\ is a piecewise analytic feedback that stabilises a small-time locally controllable system \mbox{$\Sgr:\dot{x}=f(x,u)$} in finite time, then the Lyapunov function we construct has the interesting property of being differentiable along every trajectory of the closed-loop system obtained by ``applying" \Fscr\ to \Sgr. We conclude this thesis with a number of open problems related to the stabilisability of nonlinear control systems, along with a number of examples from the literature that hint at potentially fruitful lines of future research in the area. / Thesis (Ph.D, Mathematics & Statistics) -- Queen's University, 2012-09-24 10:24:22.51

Safety constraints are ubiquitous in many robotic applications. For instance, aerial robots such as quadrotors or hexcoptors need to realize fast collision-free flight, and bipedal robots have to choose their discrete footholds properly to gain the desired friction and pressure contact forces. In this thesis, we address the safety critical control problem for fully-actuated and under-actuated mechanical systems. Since many mechanical systems evolve on nonlinear manifolds, we extend the concept of Control Barrier Function to a new concept called geometric Control Barrier Function which is specifically designed to handle safety constraints on manifolds. This type of Control Barrier Function stems from geometric control techniques and has a coordinate free and compact representation. In a similar fashion, we also extend the concept of Control Lyapunov Function to the concept of geometric Control Lyapunov Function to realize tracking on the manifolds. Based on these new geometric versions of CLF and CBF, we propose a general control design method for fully-actuated systems with both state and input constraints. In this CBF-CLF-QP control design, the control input is computed based on a state-dependent Quadratic Programming (QP) where the safety constraints are strictly enforced using geometric CBF but the tracking constraint is imposed through a type of relaxation. Through this type of relaxation, the controller could still keep the system state safe even in the cases when the reference is unsafe during some time period. For a single quadrotor, we propose the concept of augmented Control Barrier Function specifically to let it avoid external obstacles. Using this augmented CBF, we could still utilize the idea of CBF-CLF-QP controller in a sequential QP control design framework to let this quadrotor remain safe during the flight. In meantime, we also apply the geometric control techniques to the aerial transportation problem where a payload is carried by multiple quadrotors through cable suspension. This type of transportation method allows multiple quadrotors to share the payload weight, but introduces internal safety constraints at the same time. By employing both linear and nonlinear techniques, we are able to carry the payload pose to follow a pre-defined reference trajectory.

An interesting type of distributed system is a collection of identical subsystems that interact in a distinct pattern. A notable example is a ring, more commonly referred to as a circulant system. It is well known that control problems for circulant systems can be simplified by exploiting their common connection with the shift operator. Based on an examination of the algebraic properties underlying this connection, we identify a broader class of systems that share common base transformations. We call it the class of linear patterned systems. Members with meaningful physical interpretations include symmetric circulant systems, triangular Toeplitz systems and certain hierarchical systems. A geometric approach is employed to study the basic control properties of patterned systems, including controllability, observability and decomposition. Controller synthesis for several stabilization problems is then considered, and we show that a patterned solution to the problems exists if a general solution exists.

An interesting type of distributed system is a collection of identical subsystems that interact in a distinct pattern. A notable example is a ring, more commonly referred to as a circulant system. It is well known that control problems for circulant systems can be simplified by exploiting their common connection with the shift operator. Based on an examination of the algebraic properties underlying this connection, we identify a broader class of systems that share common base transformations. We call it the class of linear patterned systems. Members with meaningful physical interpretations include symmetric circulant systems, triangular Toeplitz systems and certain hierarchical systems. A geometric approach is employed to study the basic control properties of patterned systems, including controllability, observability and decomposition. Controller synthesis for several stabilization problems is then considered, and we show that a patterned solution to the problems exists if a general solution exists.

The contributions of this dissertation can be divided into three primary foci: input waveform optimization, the modeling and optimization of fish-like robots, and experiments on a flapping wing robot. Novel contributions were made in every focus. The first focus was on input waveform optimization. This goal of this research was to develop a means by which the optimal input waveforms can be selected to vibrationally stabilize a system. Vibrational stabilization is the use of high-frequency, high-amplitude periodic waveforms to stabilize a system about a desired state. The contributions presented herein develop a technique to choose the ``best" input waveform and a discussion of how the ``best" input waveform changes with the definition of ``best." The next focus was the optimization of a fish-like robot. In order to optimize such robots, a new model for fish-like locomotion is developed. An optimization technique that uses numerous simulations of fish-like locomotion was used to determine the best gaits for traveling at various speeds. Based on these results, trends were found that can determine the optimal gait using a couple relatively simple functions. The final focus was experimentation on a flapping wing robot in a wind tunnel. These experiments determined the performance of the flapping wing robot at a variety of flight conditions. The results of this research were presented in manner that is accessible to the larger aircraft design community rather than only to those specializing in flapping flight. / Ph. D.

In this thesis is initiated a more systematic geometric exploration of energy shaping. Most of the previous results have been dealt wih particular cases and neither the existence nor the space of solutions has been discussed with any degree of generality. The geometric theory of partial differential equations originated by Goldschmidt and Spencer in late 1960s is utilized to analyze the partial differential equations in energy shaping. The energy shaping partial differential equations are described as a fibered submanifold of a $ k $-jet bundle of a fibered manifold. By revealing the nature of kinetic energy shaping, similarities are noticed between the problem of kinetic energy shaping and some well-known problems in Riemannian geometry. In particular, there is a strong similarity between kinetic energy shaping and the problem of finding a metric connection initiated by Eisenhart and Veblen. We notice that the necessary conditions for the set of so-called $ \lambda $-equation restricted to the control distribution are related to the Ricci identity, similarly to the Eisenhart and Veblen metric connection problem. Finally, the set of $ \lambda $-equations for kinetic energy shaping are coupled with the integrability results of potential energy shaping. The procedure shows how a poor design of closed-loop metric can make it impossible to achieve any flexibility in the character of the possible closed-loop potential function. The integrability results of this thesis have been used to answer some interesting questions about the energy shaping. In particular, a geometric proof is provided which shows that linear controllability is sufficient for energy shaping of linear simple mechanical systems. Furthermore, it is shown that all linearly controllable mechanical control systems with one degree of underactuation can be stabilized using energy shaping feedback. The result is geometric and completely characterizes the energy shaping problem for these systems. Using the geometric approach of this thesis, some new open problems in energy shaping are formulated. In particular, we give ideas for relating the kinetic energy shaping problem to a problem on holonomy groups. Moreover, we suggest that the so-called Fakras lemma might be used for investigating the stabilization condition of energy shaping. / Thesis (Ph.D, Mathematics & Statistics) -- Queen's University, 2009-09-02 12:12:55.051

This dissertation deals with smooth feedback stabilization of control-affine systems via Interconnection and Damping Assignment - Passivity-Based Control (IDA-PBC). The IDA-PBC methodology is a feedback control design technique that aims to establish or manipulate a port-Hamiltonian structure of the closed-loop system. For a mechanical control system, a port-Hamiltonian system is a natural description of the dynamics, and several effective controller designs have been presented for this class of systems. In other fields of engineering, the development of such controller design is an active area of research. In particular, applications of IDA-PBC techniques prove to be difficult in practice for process control applications where the concept of energy is usually ill-defined. This thesis seeks to extend the application of the IDA-PBC methodology beyond mechanical control systems. This is achieved by following three directions of research. First, we establish conditions under which a port-Hamiltonian system can be written as a feedback interconnection of two port-Hamiltonian system. We identify such an interconnection structure for linear control systems based on their intrinsic properties. Second, as observed in application of IDA-PBC to non-mechanical systems, several additional assumptions on the structure of the desired port-Hamiltonian system can effectively reduce the complexity of the matching problem. We establish a unified approach that considers these additional assumptions. Third, we connect the matching problem to the classical feedback equivalence approach. We show that feedback equivalence between control-affine systems can be employed to construct some feasible interconnection and damping structures. / Thesis (Ph.D, Chemical Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2011-01-31 12:59:56.828

We consider the inverse source problem arising in thermo-and photoacoustic tomography. It consists in reconstructing the initial pressure from the boundary measurements of the acoustic wave. Our goal is to extend versatile time reversal techniques to the case when the boundary of the domain is perfectly reflecting, effectively turning the domain into a reverberant cavity. Standard time reversal works only if the solution of the direct problem decays in time, which does not happen in the setup we consider. We thus propose a novel time reversal technique with a nonstandard boundary condition. The error induced by this time reversal technique satisfies the wave equation with a dissipative boundary condition and, therefore, decays in time. For larger measurement times, this method yields a close approximation; for smaller times, the first approximation can be iteratively refined, resulting in a convergent Neumann series for the approximation.

Cette thèse s'insère dans un projet plus vaste, dont le but est de s'attaquer aux fondements mathématiques du problème inverse en contrôle optimal afin de dégager une méthodologie générale utilisable en neurophysiologie. Les deux questions essentielles sont : (a) l'unicité d'un coût pour une synthèse optimale donnée (injectivité); (b) la reconstruction du coût à partir de la synthèse. Pour des classes de coût générales, le problème apparaît très difficile même avec une dynamique triviale. On a donc attaqué l'injectivité pour des classes de problèmes spéciales : avec un coût quadratique, la dynamique étant soit non-holonome, soit affine en le contrôle. Les résultats obtenus ont permis de traiter la reconstruction pour le problème linéaire-quadratique. / This PhD thesis is part of a larger project, whose aim is to address the mathematical foundations of the inverse problem in optimal control in order to reach a general methodology usable in neurophysiology. The two key questions are : (a) the uniqueness of a cost for a given optimal synthesis (injectivity) ; (b) the reconstruction of the cost from the synthesis. For general classes of costs, the problem seems very difficult even with a trivial dynamics. Therefore, the injectivity question was treated for special classes of problems, namely, the problems with quadratic cost and a dynamics, which is either non-holonomic (sub-Riemannian geometry) or control-affine. Based on the obtained results, we propose a reconstruction algorithm for the linear-quadratic problem.

The subject of this thesis is the motion planning algorithm known as the continuation method. To solve motion planning problems, the continuation method proceeds by lifting curves in state space to curves in control space; the lifted curves are the solutions of special initial value problems called path-lifting equations. To validate this procedure, three distinct obstructions must be overcome. The first obstruction is that the endpoint maps of the control system under study must be twice continuously differentiable. By extending a result of A. Margheri, we show that this differentiability property is satisfied by an inclusive class of time-varying fully nonlinear control systems. The second obstruction is the existence of singular controls, which are simply the singular points of a fixed endpoint map. Rather than attempting to completely characterize such controls, we demonstrate how to isolate control systems for which no controls are singular. To this end, we build on the work of S. A. Vakhrameev to obtain a necessary and sufficient condition. In particular, this result accommodates time-varying fully nonlinear control systems. The final obstruction is that the solutions of path-lifting equations may not exist globally. To study this problem, we work under the standing assumption that the control system under study is control-affine. By extending a result of Y. Chitour, we show that the question of global existence can be resolved by examining Lie bracket configurations and momentum functions. Finally, we show that if the control system under study is completely unobstructed with respect to a fixed motion planning problem, then its corresponding endpoint map is a fiber bundle. In this sense, we obtain a necessary condition for unobstructed motion planning by the continuation method. / Thesis (Ph.D, Chemical Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2012-12-18 20:53:43.272