Analysis and design of networked control loops with synchronization at the actuation instants

Varying time delays prevent successful operation of control loops closed over communication networks, i.e. networked control system (NCS). To mitigate the negative effects of delays, existing research mainly focuses on deriving control approaches/solutions built upon the assumption that the operation of control loops is synchronized at the sampling instants. In this paper we propose an approach to design networked control systems with synchronization at the actuation instants. The immediate benefit is that the harmful effects that delays within control loops have in stability/performance are removed. However, the application of the proposed solution requires accurate clock synchronization among the network nodes. This requirement is discussed and analyzed for the specific case of NCS based on the controller area network (CAN).