MIMO experiment design based on asymptotic model order theory

In this paper we investigate the problem of designing an input signal for a multi-input multi-output plant to minimize a control-oriented criterion. By employing Ljung´s asymptotic (in model order and sample size) covariance formulas, we determine closed form expressions for the optimal input, which provide direct insight into the effect of the principal directions and gains of the open- and closed-loop transfer functions on the kind of experiment to be applied.