Experimental Output Regulation for a Nonlinear Benchmark System

Research on the nonlinear output regulation problem is mainly focused on theoretical developments and studies on simulation level. In this brief, we present experimental results on the local output regulation problem for a nonlinear benchmark mechanical system, the so-called translational oscillator with a rotational actuator system. The presented results show the effectiveness of the nonlinear output regulation theory in practice. As follows from the conducted experiments, issues such as the convergence rate, stability, and performance robustness with respect to (non) parametric uncertainties, the size of the region of attraction, and actuator saturation should be accounted for in tuning the controller gains. This design problem has not been addressed in the existing literature on the nonlinear output regulation problem and it, therefore, raises a new direction for research crucial to the future application of output regulation theory in practice.