State-Space Control

Chapter 7 looks at the basic theory underlining LTI systems as represented in state-space. The state-space approach offers us both advantages and disadvantages. The most prominent advantage is that the method is quite general and can apply to multivariable, time-variant and nonlinear systems. The disadvantage is that there is little or no concept of frequency or bandwidth and so we lose sight of one of the most important aspects of design methodology since the time of Bode. The bandwidth of a compensated systems gives us an idea of the possible maximum capabilities of a control-system. It tells us how much more we can push the performance in easily recognisable units of Hz.