On Time: Clocks, Chronometers, and Open-Loop Control
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LaValle, Steven M.
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Abstract
This paper addresses the peculiar treatment
that time receives when studying control systems. For example,
why is the ability to perfectly observe time assumed implicitly
in virtually all control formulations? What happens
if this implicit assumption is violated? It turns out that some
basic control results fall apart when time cannot be perfectly
measured. To make this explicit, we introduce information
space concepts that permit imperfect time information to be
considered in the same way as imperfect state information.
We then argue that classical open-loop control should be
reconsidered as perfect time-feedback control. Following this,
we introduce a notion of strongly open-loop control, which
does not require perfect time observations. We provide some
examples of these concepts and argue that many fascinating
directions for future controls research emerge.
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Date
2007-12
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Proceedings