Hybrid control system design based on natural invariants

The hybrid control systems considered here consist of a continuous plant under the control of a discrete event system. Communication between the plant and controller is provided by an interface that can convert signal from the continuous domain to the symbolic domain, and vise-versa. Hybrid control system design generally involves designing a controller, possibly designing some or all of the interface, and in some cases, designing a continuous controller that will become part of the continuous-time plant. This paper examines the case where the interface is partially given, along with the plant and a set of control goals. A method is presented which designs the symbol generating portion of the interface and also yields a controller for the system. The method is based on the natural invariants of the plant. This technique is illustrated by an example in which the design process is simulated via a computer program for an unmanned underwater vehicle