Sampling and control of switched linear systems

In this paper, we address the sampling and control issues for switched linear systems. Under synchronous switching and piecewise constant control, a continuous-time switched system is naturally related to a discrete-time sampled-data system. We prove that, with almost any sampling rate, the controllable subspace will be preserved for a switched linear system. We also investigate the possibility of achieving controllability using regular switching mechanisms. We show that, to achieve controllability for a switched linear system, it is sufficient to use cyclic and synchronous switching paths and constant control laws.