Design and Performance Analysis of Incremental Networked Predictive Control Systems

This paper is concerned with the design and performance analysis of networked control systems with network-induced delay, packet disorder, and packet dropout. Based on the incremental form of the plant input-output model and an incremental error feedback control strategy, an incremental networked predictive control (INPC) scheme is proposed to actively compensate for the round-trip time delay resulting from the above communication constraints. The output tracking performance and closed-loop stability of the resulting INPC system are considered for two cases: 1) plant-model match case and 2) plant-model mismatch case. For the former case, the INPC system can achieve the same output tracking performance and closed-loop stability as those of the corresponding local control system. For the latter case, a sufficient condition for the stability of the closed-loop INPC system is derived using the switched system theory. Furthermore, for both cases, the INPC system can achieve a zero steady-state output tracking error for step commands. Finally, both numerical simulations and practical experiments on an Internet-based servo motor system illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.