Fast Feedback Control over Multi-Hop Wireless Networks with Mode Changes and Stability Guarantees

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

Closing feedback loops fast and over long distances is key to emerging cyber-physical applications; for example, robot motion control and swarm coordination require update intervals of tens of milliseconds. Low-power wireless communication technology is preferred for its low cost, small form factor, and flexibility, especially if the devices support multi-hop communication. Thus far, however, feedback control over multi-hop low-power wireless networks has only been demonstrated for update intervals on the order of seconds. To fill this gap, this article presents a wireless embedded system that supports dynamic mode changes and tames imperfections impairing control performance (e.g., jitter and message loss), and a control design that exploits the essential properties of this system to provably guarantee closed-loop stability for physical processes with linear time-invariant dynamics in the presence of mode changes. Using experiments on a cyber-physical testbed with 20 wireless devices and multiple cart-pole systems, we are the first to demonstrate and evaluate feedback control and coordination with mode changes over multi-hop networks for update intervals of 20 to 50 milliseconds.

Details

Original languageEnglish
JournalACM Transactions on Cyber-Physical Systems
Volume4
Issue number2
Publication statusPublished - 16 Nov 2019
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 85075635288

Keywords

Research priority areas of TU Dresden

Keywords

  • multi-agent systems, cyber-physical systems, multi-hop networks, industrial Internet of Things, Wireless control, mode changes, closed-loop stability, synchronous transmissions