Discrete-Time Supervisory Control of Families of Linear Set-Point Controllers

Abstract This paper describes a simple 'high-level' controller called a 'supervisor' which is capable of switching into feedback with a process described with a siso discrete-time linear system, a sequence of linear set-point, controllers from a family of candidate controllers, so as to cause the output of the process to approach and track a constant reference input. This algorithm guarantees global stability and satisfactory tracking performance in the face of constant and bounded process disturbances. Under a simplificative assumption, it is proven that the supervisor can perform successfully also in the face of norm bounded unmodelled process dynamics, provided they are 'sufficiently small'.