Maximum Hands-Off Control: A Paradigm of Control Effort Minimization

In this paper, we propose a new paradigm of control, called a maximum hands-off control. A handsoff control is defined as a control that has a short support per unit time. The maximum hands-off control is the minimum support (or sparsest) per unit time among all controls that achieve control objectives. For finite horizon control, we show the equivalence between the maximum hands-off control and L1 optimal control under a uniqueness assumption called normality. This result rationalizes the use of L1 optimality in computing a maximum hands-off control. We also propose an L1 /L2 -optimal control to obtain a smooth hands-off control. Furthermore, we give a self-triggered feedback control algorithm for linear time-invariant systems, which achieves a given sparsity rate and practical stability in the case of plant disturbances. An example is included to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control.

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2016
• Where: TAC
• Authors: Masaaki Nagahara, Daniel E. Quevedo, Dragan Nesic
• Keywords: TAC 2016