Controller design for a distributed architecture

In this paper, we consider the problem of controller design for a class of single input, single output distributed control systems. These are feedback control systems with a control architecture that consists of two controllers. The output of one controller directly affects the plant whereas the output of the second affects the plant after some delay. We first argue that such control architecture arises quite naturally in applications of control over networks. Within such architecture, we demonstrate that the dynamic system characteristics can be significantly affected by the manner in which the controller is implemented. We then suggest a framework for analysis and design of such distributed systems and show how robust control methods can be successfully employed. We demonstrate our approach with a number of simulation examples.