Neural-Network-Based Approximate Output Regulation of Discrete-Time Nonlinear Systems

The existing approaches to the discrete-time nonlinear output regulation problem rely on the offline solution of a set of mixed nonlinear functional equations known as discrete regulator equations. For complex nonlinear systems, it is difficult to solve the discrete regulator equations even approximately. Moreover, for systems with uncertainty, these approaches cannot offer a reliable solution. By combining the approximation capability of the feedforward neural networks (NNs) with an online parameter optimization mechanism, we develop an approach to solving the discrete nonlinear output regulation problem without solving the discrete regulator equations explicitly. The approach of this paper can be viewed as a discrete counterpart of our previous paper on approximately solving the continuous-time nonlinear output regulation problem.