Optimal nonlinear controllers for feedback linearizable systems

Presents a new class of controllers for dynamic feedback linearizable systems which achieve asymptotic tracking of given state reference trajectories. These controllers are characterized by a formula whose design parameters directly describe the trade-off between control effort and tracking error. For natural choices of these design parameters, this formula generates controllers which do not blindly cancel nonlinearities but rather counteract them only when they degrade the performance of the system. Furthermore, these controllers are optimal with respect to sensible performance criteria and therefore possess desirable robustness properties.