A General Switch-Mode Amplifier Design for Actuators Using MIMO Optimal Feedback Quantization

This paper proposes a novel switch-mode power stage architecture for actuators. For a large number of actuators, the associated power amplifier becomes costly and bulky when each actuator is controlled by an independent amplifier. The proposed architecture allows actuators to share power amplifiers, thereby reducing the number of switching devices. This architecture is mapped into the graph theorem, and acceptable actuation states are analyzed. The switching method is controlled by multiple-input multiple-output optimal feedback quantization, which is designed to minimize a weighted measure of quantization distortion. Simulation and experimental results illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.