On Time: Clocks, Chronometers, and Open-Loop Control

LaValle, Steven M.; Egerstedt, Magnus B.

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/11340 Copy

Description

Title

On Time: Clocks, Chronometers, and Open-Loop Control

Author(s)

• LaValle, Steven M.
• Egerstedt, Magnus B.

Issue Date

2007-05

Keyword(s)

control systems

Abstract

This paper addresses the peculiar treatment that time receives when studying control systems. For example, why is the ability to perfectly observe time assumed implicitly in virtually all control formulations? What happens if this implicit assumption is violated? It turns out that some basic control results fall apart when time cannot be perfectly measured. To make this explicit, we introduce information space concepts that permit imperfect time information to be considered in the same way as imperfect state information. We then argue that classical open-loop control should be reconsidered as perfect {\em time-feedback} control. Following this, we introduce a notion of {\em strongly open-loop} control, which does not require perfect time observations. We provide some examples of these concepts and argue that many fascinating directions for future controls research emerge.

Type of Resource

text

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/11340

Copyright and License Information

You are granted permission for the non-commercial reproduction, distribution, display, and performance of this technical report in any format, BUT this permission is only for a period of 45 (forty-five) days from the most recent time that you verified that this technical report is still available from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Computer Science Department under terms that include this permission. All other rights are reserved by the author(s).

Owning Collections