Self-recovery control for dependable systems

The task of managing duty-standby controllers in building a dependable computerised-control system with wireless sensor networks is challenging owing to the scarcity of both information and processing resources. A novel synchronization method for redundant controllers applying techniques from dissipative systems theory is presented in this paper. As an alternative to the control summation in classical reliable control systems, only one scalar variable, which is the calculated supply rate, is exchanged among the member controllers. Thanks to this one-variable and autonomous-based approach, the reliability requirement will be met under the temporal constraint of real-time controllers whilst overcoming the latency issue and low data-package rates in wireless networks. A dissipation-based quadratic constraint with respect to the control and output increments is developed for these redundant controllers. When a failure is detected, the constraint of the standby controller will be activated from the lower bound of the supply rate being transferred from the duty controller. During the transition time, this constraint is imposed on the output increment such that the transition between the duty and standby controllers will be smooth for the output vector.