Network-based static output feedback tracking control for a class of systems using the positive effects of network-induced delays

This paper is concerned with network-based static output feedback tracking control for a class of systems that can not be stabilized by a static output feedback controller without a time-delay, but can be stabilized by a delayed static output feedback controller. For such systems, a stable and satisfactory tracking control can be achieved by intentionally introducing bounded network-induced delays in the feedback loop. A new discontinuous complete Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional is constructed to derive a criterion on H_∞ tracking performance analysis. Using a particle swarm optimization technique with feasibility of the derived criterion, a novel design algorithm is proposed to search the minimum H_∞ tracking performance and corresponding feedback gains. An illustrative example is given to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.