A separation principle for hybrid control system design

Presented here is a method, based on automatic control system design practice, for the synthesis of hybrid control systems, controllers that contain both real-time feedback loops and logical decision-making components. In the proposed framework, the overall design task is separated into three component parts: (1) design of the real-time control loops, (2) synthesis of the decision-making logic, and (3) construction of appropriate Boolean/real-time translation routines. This is an effective partitioning of the control system design task, as shown through two examples: (1) control of a highly flexible structure and (2) a robotic manipulator control task. This framework was found to be compatible with expert system-based intelligent control systems and can employ expert system techniques when necessary or effective