Switched Finite Time Control of a Class of Underactuated Systems

The control of mechanical systems with constraints has been a topic of intense research in the control and dynamical systems community for the past two decades. In particular, systems with velocity and/or acceleration level constraints which appear in many applications like - robotics, spacecrafts, launch vehicles, underwater vehicles - have been studied intensively. This monograph is a self-contained exposition on a switched, finite-time, control strategy for this class of systems. Beginning with basic definitions and mathematical preliminaries, the monograph works its way up to the main control algorithm. Three well-studied applications are chosen to demonstrate the algorithm. Other facets of the algorithm and an alternate algorithm are also briefly touched upon.

The monograph is intended for graduate students and researchers in the area of nonlinear control and dynamical systems.

• Finite Time Control
• Nonholonomic Systems
• Nonlinear Control
• Switched Sliding Mode Control
• Underactuated Systems
• algorithms
• control algorithm
• mobile robot
• robot
• robotics

From the reviews:

"This is a monograph focusing on the control of a class of undergraduate mechanical systems … which are not linearly controllable. … The book is recommended to researchers, doctoral students and application engineers interested in the automatic control of underactuated mechanical systems." (Octavian Pastravanu, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 1121 (23), 2007)

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