On the computation of convex robust control invariant sets for nonlinear systems

In this paper we provide a method to compute robust control invariant sets for nonlinear discrete-time systems. A simple criterion to evaluate if a convex set in state space is a robust control invariant set for a nonlinear uncertain system is presented. The criterion is employed to design an algorithm for computing a polytopic robust control invariant set. The method is based on the properties of DC functions, i.e. functions which can be expressed as the difference of two convex functions. Since the elements of a wide class of nonlinear functions have DC representation or, at least, admit an arbitrarily close approximation, the method is quite general. The algorithm requires relatively low computational resources.