Non-Linear Control and Its Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Classical control techniques are based on the assumption that systems of interest are linear and time-invariant, or can be linearized around a nominal working point and are slowly varying. Under these assumptions, a control system can be designed seamlessly on the basis of a large corpus of well-established methods. Those assumptions are, however, rarely met in reality, and the inherent non-linearity calls for more sophisticated design techniques, often based on sophisticated mathematical tools. Non-linear design methods are often presented on a case-by-case basis. It is of great interest to develop, present and discuss general-purpose non-linear methods to design control systems and to analyze their performance in plausible scenarios. It is also of great interest to develop systematic design methods, as opposed to ad hoc, empirical design.

Therefore, this Topic aims to present advanced research on general-purpose nonlinear control methodologies, systematic controller design strategies, and performance analysis under realistic application scenarios. Original research articles and review papers are welcome. Relevant topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Fundamental theories and methodologies of nonlinear control;

a.1. Geometric control and differential geometric methods;

a.2. Stability analysis and Lyapunov-based design;

a.3. Nonlinear observer and state estimation;

2. Advanced nonlinear control strategies;

b.1. Adaptive and robust nonlinear control;

b.2. Sliding mode control and model predictive control;

b.3. Intelligent nonlinear control and learning-based control;

3. Nonlinear dynamical systems and applications;

c.1. Analysis and control of holonomic and non-holonomic systems;

c.2. Practical applications in engineering, robotics, power systems and mechatronics;

c.3. System identification and fault diagnosis for nonlinear systems.

This Topic welcomes both theoretical advances and practical application contributions, promoting the development of systematic rather than ad hoc empirical nonlinear control design methods.

Dr. Simone Fiori
Prof. Dr. Jin Wu
Dr. Inés Tejado
Topic Editors