The majority of computers around us are embedded in productsand dedicated to perform certain tasks. A specific task is thecontrol of a dynamic system. The computers are ofteninterconnected by communication networks forming a distributedsystem. Vehicles and manufacturing equipment are two types ofmechatronic machines which often host dedicated computercontrol systems. A research problem is how the real-timebehaviour of the computer system affects the application,especially the control of the dynamic system. If the internal or external conditions varies over time, itbecomes difficult to assign a fixed resource reservation thatwill work well in all situations. In general, the more time anapplication gets of a resource, the better its gauged orperceived quality will be. A strategy is to alter the resourcereservation when the condition changes. This can be constructedas a negotiation between competing applications, a method forwhich the termquality of control, QoC, has been coined. Scalability isthe ability to change the structure and configuration of asystem. It promotes evolving systems and a can help manage acomplex product family. An architecture for a QoC middleware ontop of a scalable computer system, has been proposed. As aquality measureof a control application, the well-knownweighted quadratic loss function used in optimal control, hasbeen revised to encompass a subset of the so called timingproperties. The timing properties are the periods and thedelays in the control loop, including time-varying period anddelay. They are the interface between control and computerengineering, from a control engineering viewpoint. The qualitymeasure can be used both offline and on-line given a model ofthe sampled-data system and an appropriate description of thetiming properties. In order to use a computer system efficiently and toguarantee its responsiveness, real-time scheduling is a must.In fixed priority scheduling each task arrives periodically andhas a fixed priority. A task with a high priority can preempt alow priority task and gain access to the resource. Thebest-case response time characterizes the delays in the system,which is useful from a control viewpoint. A new algorithm tocalculate thebest-caseresponsetime has been derived. It is based on ascheduling scenario which yields a recurrence equation. Themodel is dual to the well-known worst-case response timeanalysis. Besides the dynamic fixed priority scheduling algorithm,optimal control usingstatic schedulinghas been studied, assuming a limitedcommunication. In the static schedule, which is constructedpre-runtime, each task is assigned a time window within aschedule repeated in eternity. The optimal scheduling sequenceis sought by optimizing the overall control performance. Aninteresting aspect is that the non-specified control periodfalls out as a result of theoptimal schedule. The time-varying delay is accountedfor in the control design. Keywords:Real-time scheduling, sampled-data control,performance measure, quality of control, limited communication,time-varying delay, jitter.

<p>The majority of computers around us are embedded in productsand dedicated to perform certain tasks. A specific task is thecontrol of a dynamic system. The computers are ofteninterconnected by communication networks forming a distributedsystem. Vehicles and manufacturing equipment are two types ofmechatronic machines which often host dedicated computercontrol systems. A research problem is how the real-timebehaviour of the computer system affects the application,especially the control of the dynamic system.</p><p>If the internal or external conditions varies over time, itbecomes difficult to assign a fixed resource reservation thatwill work well in all situations. In general, the more time anapplication gets of a resource, the better its gauged orperceived quality will be. A strategy is to alter the resourcereservation when the condition changes. This can be constructedas a negotiation between competing applications, a method forwhich the term<i>quality of control</i>, QoC, has been coined. Scalability isthe ability to change the structure and configuration of asystem. It promotes evolving systems and a can help manage acomplex product family. An architecture for a QoC middleware ontop of a scalable computer system, has been proposed.</p><p>As a<i>quality measure</i>of a control application, the well-knownweighted quadratic loss function used in optimal control, hasbeen revised to encompass a subset of the so called timingproperties. The timing properties are the periods and thedelays in the control loop, including time-varying period anddelay. They are the interface between control and computerengineering, from a control engineering viewpoint. The qualitymeasure can be used both offline and on-line given a model ofthe sampled-data system and an appropriate description of thetiming properties.</p><p>In order to use a computer system efficiently and toguarantee its responsiveness, real-time scheduling is a must.In fixed priority scheduling each task arrives periodically andhas a fixed priority. A task with a high priority can preempt alow priority task and gain access to the resource. Thebest-case response time characterizes the delays in the system,which is useful from a control viewpoint. A new algorithm tocalculate the<i>best-caseresponse</i>time has been derived. It is based on ascheduling scenario which yields a recurrence equation. Themodel is dual to the well-known worst-case response timeanalysis.</p><p>Besides the dynamic fixed priority scheduling algorithm,optimal control using<i>static scheduling</i>has been studied, assuming a limitedcommunication. In the static schedule, which is constructedpre-runtime, each task is assigned a time window within aschedule repeated in eternity. The optimal scheduling sequenceis sought by optimizing the overall control performance. Aninteresting aspect is that the non-specified control periodfalls out as a result of the<i>optimal schedule</i>. The time-varying delay is accountedfor in the control design.</p><p><b>Keywords:</b>Real-time scheduling, sampled-data control,performance measure, quality of control, limited communication,time-varying delay, jitter.</p>

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This thesis is concerned with the sampled-data control of non-linear continuous-time systems. Sampled-data systems are present in all computer controlled, hybrid or embedded systems. The design and computation of suitable digital controllers represent unavoidable tasks since both continuous and discrete-time components interact. The basic framework of this work takes part of a wide research activity performed by S. Monaco and D. Normand-Cyrot regarding non-linear sampled-data systems. The underlying idea is to design digital controllers that recover certain continuous-time properties that are usually degraded through sampling as it is the case when continuous-time controllers are implemented by means of zero-order holder devices (emulated control). This thesis brings contributions into three different directions. The first one regards theoretical developments: a new digital backstepping-like strategy design for strict-feedback systems is proposed. This method is compared with other strategies proposed in the literature. The second contribution is the development of a control designer and of a simulation toolbox (in Matlab) for non-linear sampled-data systems. This toolbox includes different digital design strategies such as: multi-rate control, input-output/Lyapunov matching, digital backstepping design, etc. The third contribution concerns several case studies conducted to highlight the performances of the sampled-data controller designs, computed by the means of the software toolbox. Experimental and simulation results are described for various real examples especially in the area of electrical and mechanical processes.

L'objectif de cette thèse de doctorat est (i) d'étudier et de développer des méthodes d’analyse et de commande de systèmes de contrôle en réseau linéaires et non linéaires et (ii) de montrer le potentiel de ces approches dans des applications complexes pertinentes. À cet égard, la théorie des systèmes à plusieurs agents, la théorie des graphes algébriques et le consensus sont des outils méthodologiques les plus intéressants. Une attention particulière est accordée à la caractérisation des relations entre, d'une part, la topologie du graphe de communication qui sous-tend l'évolution du système à plusieurs agents considéré et, d'autre part, les propriétés spectrales de la matrice Laplacienne associée au graphe lui-même. Le contrôle d'un groupe d'agents autonomes est étudié sous différents angles. Le principal objectif de contrôle est de s’assurer que les agents travaillent ensemble de manière coopérative, où la coopération représente la relation étroite entre tous les agents de l'équipe, le partage de l'information jouant un rôle important. En particulier, beaucoup de problèmes de consensus/accord/ synchronisation /rendez-vous sont étudiés afin de guider un groupe d’agents vers un état commun. Le consensus est étudié dans un contexte à temps discret parce que la dynamique du système est en général continue alors que les mesures et les entrées de contrôle sont des données échantillonnées. En outre, la théorie des jeux est utilisée pour faire face aux problèmes de coordination distribués à plusieurs agents, avec une application aux réseaux connus sous le nom de Software Defined Networks. À cet égard, on peut montrer que, sous des protocoles correctement conçus, les joueurs convergent vers un équilibre unique de Wardrop. On concentre l’attention sur le contrôle distribué, car cette approche présente des avantages évidents par rapport à la centralisation, comme l'évolutivité et la robustesse. Pourtant, le contrôle distribué a également ses propres inconvénients : avant tout, un inconvénient est que chaque agent ne peut pas prédire efficacement le comportement global du groupe en se basant uniquement sur des informations locales. Une certaine attention est également accordée à la nécessité de sécuriser les réseaux électriques contre le danger des attaques cyber-physiques grâce au développement de technologies d'intelligence distribuée. À cet égard, sur la base de topologies de réseaux d'énergie réalistes, nous présentons brièvement la conception d'un schéma de protection contre les attaques dynamiques à un point et à points multiples en boucle fermée. Nous formulons et résolvons un problème d'optimisation non convexe soumis à une contrainte de stabilité de Lyapunov pour la représentation à plusieurs agents autonome d'un réseau électrique obtenue après la linéarisation et l'application des lois d’attaque et de contrôle de fréquence. Finalement, nous présentons des résultats obtenus sur : le pilotage exact de la dynamique non linéaire finie à données échantillonnées avec des retards sur les entrées, au sujet de la stabilisation à données échantillonnées et de la poursuite de l'orbite quasi-halo autour du point de libration translunaire L₂, et au sujet des algorithmes heuristiques basés sur des méthodes d'apprentissage par renforcement à plusieurs agents capables d'effectuer un contrôle adaptatif optimal de qualité de service / qualité de l’expérience dans des scénarios sans modèle. / The objective of this PhD thesis is (i) to investigate and develop methods for the analysis and design of linear and nonlinear networked control systems and (ii) to show the potential of such approaches in relevant complex applications. In this respect, multi-agent systems theory, algebraic graph theory and consensus are the most interesting methodological tools, and specific attention is paid to the characterization of the relationships between, on the one hand, the topology of the communication graph that underlies the evolution of the considered multiagent system and, on the other hand, the spectral properties of the Laplacian matrix associated with the graph itself. The control of a group of autonomous agents is investigated from different perspectives. The main control objective is to make sure that the agents work together in a cooperative fashion, where cooperation accounts for the close relationship among all agents in the team, with information sharing playing an important role. In particular, various problems regarding consensus/agreement/synchronization/rendezvous are investigated with the specific aim of driving a group of agents to some common state. Consensus is investigated in a discrete-time setting due to the fact that the system dynamics is normally continuous while the measurements and control inputs might only be made in a sampled-data setting. Moreover, game theory is relied upon in order to cope with distributed multi-agent coordination problems, with application to Software Defined Networks. In this respect, it can be shown that, under properly designed protocols, the players converge to a unique Wardrop equilibrium. We focus on distributed control, since this approach shows obvious benefits over centralization, such as scalability and robustness. Yet, it also has its own drawbacks: among all, one drawback is that each agent cannot effectively predict the overall group behaviour based on only local information. Some attention is also devoted to the need for securing power grids against the danger of cyber-physical attacks through the development of distributed intelligence technologies accompanied by appropriate security enforcements. In this respect, based on realistic power network topologies, we briefly present the design of a protection scheme against closed-loop single-point and multi-point dynamic load altering attacks. This is done by formulating and solving a non-convex optimization problem subject to a Lyapunov stability constraint for the autonomous multiagent representation of a power system obtained after linearization and application of the attack and frequency control laws. Eventually, we show some other results achieved in terms of the exact steeering of finite sampled nonlinear dynamics with input delays, of sampled-data stabilization and quasi-halo orbit following around the L₂ translunar libration point, and of heuristic algorithms based on multi-agent reinforcement learning methods capable of performing optimal adaptive Quality of Service/Quality of Experience control in model-free scenarios.

Cette thèse concerne la conception de commandes échantillonnées pour les systèmes non-linéaires en temps continu. Les systèmes échantillonnés sont des éléments inhérents aux systèmes contrôlés par ordinateur, les systèmes hybrides ou les systèmes embarqués. La conception et le calcul des contrôleurs numériques appropriés sont des taches difficiles car ils contiennent des composants à la fois continu et en temps discret. Ce travail s'inscrit dans une activité de recherche menée par S. Monaco et D. Normand-Cyrot dans le domaine des systèmes échantillonnés non-linéaires. L'idée de base est de concevoir des contrôleurs digitaux qui permettent de récupérer certaines propriétés en temps continu qui sont généralement dégradées par l'échantillonnage. Tel est le cas de l'émulation lorsque les contrôleurs en temps continu sont mis en ouvre en utilisant des bloqueurs d'ordre zéro. Cette thèse apporte des contributions dans trois directions complémentaires. La première concerne les développements théoriques: une nouvelle conception de type ``backstepping digital" est proposée pour les systèmes en forme ``strict-feedback". Cette méthode est comparée à d'autres stratégies proposées dans la littérature. La deuxième contribution est le développement d'un logiciel pour la synthèse des contrôleurs et d'une ``boîte à outils" pour simuler (en Matlab) les systèmes échantillonnés non-linéaires et leurs contrôleurs. Cette boîte à outils inclut plusieurs algorithmes pour la synthèse de contrôleurs échantillonnés tels que: commande de type multi-échelle, reproduction entrée-sortie/Lyapunov, backstepping digital, etc. La troisième contribution concerne plusieurs études de cas menées pour mettre en évidence les performances des contrôleurs échantillonnés, calculés avec l'aide du logiciel. Des résultats expérimentaux et des simulations sont décrits pour divers exemples réels dans les domaines électriques et mécaniques. / This thesis is concerned with the sampled-data control of non-linear continuous-time systems. Sampled-data systems are present in all computer controlled, hybrid or embedded systems. The design and computation of suitable digital controllers represent unavoidable tasks since both continuous and discrete-time components interact. The basic framework of this work takes part of a wide research activity performed by S. Monaco and D. Normand-Cyrot regarding non-linear sampled-data systems. The underlying idea is to design digital controllers that recover certain continuous-time properties that are usually degraded through sampling as it is the case when continuous-time controllers are implemented by means of zero-order holder devices (emulated control). This thesis brings contributions into three different directions. The first one regards theoretical developments: a new digital backstepping-like strategy design for strict-feedback systems is proposed. This method is compared with other strategies proposed in the literature. The second contribution is the development of a control designer and of a simulation toolbox (in Matlab) for non-linear sampled-data systems. This toolbox includes different digital design strategies such as: multi-rate control, input-output/Lyapunov matching, digital backstepping design, etc. The third contribution concerns several case studies conducted to highlight the performances of the sampled-data controller designs, computed by the means of the software toolbox. Experimental and simulation results are described for various real examples especially in the area of electrical and mechanical processes. / Teza de față se concentrează asupra studiului controlului eșantionat pentru sisteme neliniare în timp continuu. Sistemele eșantionate sunt componente indispensabile oricăror sisteme de control bazate pe dispozitive de calcul, sisteme hibride sau sisteme embedded. Sinteza și calculul comenzilor digitale, potrivite pentru astfel de sisteme, devine o sarcină dificilă o dată ce presupune existența de dinamici în timp discret respectiv în timp continuu.Cadrul de bază al acestei lucrări se regăsește în activitatea de cercetare realizată de Salvatore Monaco și Dorothée Normand-Cyrot în domeniul sistemelor eșantionate neliniare. Ideea care stă la bază este de a sintetiza comenzile digitale urmărind menținerea unor proprietăți impuse în timp continuu sub eșantionare. Aceste proprietăți sunt în general degradate sub eșantionare cum este cazul comenzilor emulate, când comenzile continue sunt implementate practic cu ajutorul extrapolatoarelor de ordin 0.Această teză își aduce aportul în 3 direcții complementare. Prima adresează dezvoltările teoretice unde o nouă sinteză de tip backstepping digital este propusă pentru sisteme în formă <strict-feedback>. Această metodă, dezvoltată în două versiuni, este comparată cu alte strategii similare propuse în literatură. A doua contribuție a tezei este legată de dezvoltarea unui toolbox software pentru sinteza de controllere digitale pentru sisteme nelinare sub eșantionare. Acest toolbox include strategii diferite pentru sinteza eșantionată precum: comandă de tip multi-rate, reproducere intrare-ieșire/Lyapunov, backstepping digital și alte soluții care sunt obiectul unor noi extensii. A treia contribuție este dată de studiile de caz dezvoltate pentru a scoate în evidență performanțele comenzilor eșantionate testate și calculate cu ajutorul aplicației software. Rezultatele experimentale și de simulare sunt obținute pentru diverse exemple reale din domeniul electric și mecanic.

La thèse porte sur le développement des techniques non linéaires robustes de stabilisation et commande des systèmes avec perturbations de model. D’abord, on introduit les concepts de base de stabilité et stabilisabilité robuste dans le contexte des systèmes non linéaires. Ensuite, on présente une méthodologie de stabilisation par retour d’état en présence d’incertitudes qui ne sont pas dans l’image de la commande («unmatched»). L’approche récursive du «backstepping» permet de compenser les perturbations «unmatched» et de construire une fonction de Lyapunov contrôlée robuste, utilisable pour le calcul ultérieur d’un compensateur des incertitudes dans l’image de la commande («matched»). Le contrôleur obtenu est appelé «recursive Lyapunov redesign». Ensuite, on introduit la technique de stabilisation par «Immersion & Invariance» comme outil pour rendre un donné contrôleur non linéaire, robuste par rapport à dynamiques non modelées. La première technique de contrôle non linéaire robuste proposée est appliquée au projet d’un autopilote pour un missile air-air et au développement d’une loi de commande d’attitude pour un satellite avec appendices flexibles. L’efficacité du «recursive Lyapunov redesign» est mis en évidence dans le deux cas d’étude considérés. En parallèle, on propose une méthode systématique de calcul des termes incertains basée sur un modèle déterministe d’incertitude. La partie finale du travail de thèse est relative à la stabilisation des systèmes sous échantillonnage. En particulier, on reformule, dans le contexte digital, la technique d’Immersion et Invariance. En premier lieu, on propose des solutions constructives en temps continu dans le cas d’une classe spéciale des systèmes en forme triangulaire «feedback form», au moyen de «backstepping» et d’arguments de domination non linéaire. L’implantation numérique est basée sur une loi multi-échelles, dont l’existence est garantie pour la classe des systèmes considérée. Le contrôleur digital assure la propriété d’attractivité et des trajectoires bornées. La loi de commande, calculée par approximation finie d’un développement asymptotique, est validée en simulation de deux exemples académiques et deux systèmes physiques, le pendule inversé sur un chariot et le satellite rigide. / The dissertation deals with the problems of stabilization and control of nonlinear systems with deterministic model uncertainties. First, in the context of uncertain systems analysis, we introduce and explain the basic concepts of robust stability and stabilizability. Then, we propose a method of stabilization via state-feedback in presence of unmatched uncertainties in the dynamics. The recursive backstepping approach allows to compensate the uncertain terms acting outside the control span and to construct a robust control Lyapunov function, which is exploited in the subsequent design of a compensator for the matched uncertainties. The obtained controller is called recursive Lyapunov redesign. Next, we introduce the stabilization technique through Immersion \& Invariance (I\&I) as a tool to improve the robustness of a given nonlinear controller with respect to unmodeled dynamics. The recursive Lyapunov redesign is then applied to the attitude stabilization of a spacecraft with flexible appendages and to the autopilot design of an asymmetric air-to-air missile. Contextually, we develop a systematic method to rapidly evaluate the aerodynamic perturbation terms exploiting the deterministic model of the uncertainty. The effectiveness of the proposed controller is highlighted through several simulations in the second case-study considered. In the final part of the work, the technique of I\& I is reformulated in the digital setting in the case of a special class of systems in feedback form, for which constructive continuous-time solutions exist, by means of backstepping and nonlinear domination arguments. The sampled-data implementation is based on a multi-rate control solution, whose existence is guaranteed for the class of systems considered. The digital controller guarantees, under sampling, the properties of manifold attractivity and trajectory boundedness. The control law, computed by finite approximation of a series expansion, is finally validated through numerical simulations in two academic examples and in two case-studies, namely the cart-pendulum system and the rigid spacecraft.