Input Design for Model Discrimination: Application to Respiratory Control During Exercise

The existence of a set of alternative models, all competing to characterize respiratoxy controller structure, leads naturally to a model discrimination problem. In these models the structure and0 parameter values are fixed. This paper considers the problem of input design for enhancing model discrimination. Using a class of models given by linear differential equations with time delays, an input consisting of a sum of sinusoidal components under a power constraint is considered. A procedure for designating the power spectrum of the signal is developed. Furthermore, a procedure for obtaining a binary signal with a similar spectrum is illustrated. These concepts are applied to input design for discrimination among models that characterize respiratory control during exercise.