From nonlinear to Hamiltonian via feedback

Mechanical control systems are a very important class of nonlinear control systems. They possess a rich mathematical structure which can be extremely important for the solution of various control problems. We expand the applicability of design methodologies developed for mechanical control systems by locally rendering nonlinear control systems, mechanical by a proper choice of feedback. In particular, we characterize control systems which can be transformed to Hamiltonian control systems by a local feedback transformation.