Control of time-delay systems [Book reviews]

Review by Arild Thowsen. The Institution of Electrical Engineers published the first volume of its Control Engineering Series in 1976. The present book by J.E. Marshall is the tenth and latest volume in this continuing series intended for postgraduate students and professional control engineers. The purpose of this introductory text on control of timedelay systems is, according to the author, "to present a systematic account of the control methods available for timedelay systems, and in particular, to indicate how, in most cases, these techniques may be derived by extension of the control techniques already well established for delay-free systems." The book consists of 11 chapters, a list of 112 cited references, another list of 102 references not cited in the text, and a set of 11 exam problems with solutions and/or hints used by the author at the University of Bath. Overall, the book provides a good overview of past work on the control of delay systems modeled by G(s)e^-ST. Due to the extensive scope of coverage, however, desired depth and detail of presentation have occasionally been sacrificed. The book can serve well as a text for an introductory course on delay system and is a welcomed addition to the small but growing literature on the subject. For self-study, e.g., by practicing engineers, the many misprints and errors, including sign errors, missing constants, undefmed symbols, etc., limit its utility. It is unfortunate that these mistakes, which detract from the clarity of presentation, were not corrected prior to publication.