Event-triggered Stabilization over Digital Channels

Online Seminar on the Interaction of Control and Information (April 12th, 2021)

Speaker: Mohammad Javad Khojasteh (MIT)

Abstract: In many cyber-physical systems (CPS), control occurs under communication constraints, where observations are corrupted by noise and subjected to delay. Data-rate theorems represent a cornerstone of CPS theory and have been studied for more than two decades. These theorems essentially state that the minimum communication rate to achieve stabilization is equal to the plant's entropy rate. On the other hand, the need to use distributed resources eciently in CPS has led to event-triggering control techniques based on the idea of sending information opportunistically between the controller and the plant. After reviewing the basics of the data rate theorems, we illustrate how they are to be modied in the presence of an event-triggered implementation. In the same way that subsequent pauses in spoken language are used to convey information, it is also possible to transmit information in communication networks not only by message content but also with its timing. In this talk, we discuss how event-triggering strategies provide timing information by transmitting in a state-dependent fashion. In fact, the event-triggering paradigm brings a new perspective, leading to insights on the information-theoretic value of timing in communication that can be used for control. We will conclude the talk by discussing some open problems.