The Use of Pseudo-Random Signals in Adaptive Control

Previous work on adaptive control has treated the problem as being distinct from the allied subject of process identification. Thus entirely separate techniques have been developed for the solution of these two related topics. Periodic test signals have received wide acceptance as the probe for hill-climbing systems and sinusoidal perturbation is claimed to be the optimum in particular situations(1). The most recently proposed input for identification purposes is the pseudo-random binary sequence (PRBS), which can be chosen to give whatever detail is required concerning the impulse response of the system.