Event
UTRC CDS Invited Lecture: Kirsten Morris "Sensors & actuators: control infinite-dimensional systems"
Thursday, October 19, 2017
4:00 p.m.
1146 AV Williams Building
United Technologies Research Center
Control and Dynamical Systems Invited Lecture
The role of sensors and actuators in control of infinite-dimensional systems
Kirsten Morris
Professor
Department of Applied Mathematics
University of Waterloo
Ontario, Canada
Abstract
For systems modeled by partial differential equations there is generally choice in the type of actuator and sensors used and also their locations. Several examples are given to illustrate how choice and modeling of the actuators and sensors affects control system performance. Once the control hardware, that is, the actuators and sensors, are selected, performance depends not only on the controller, but also on the location of the hardware. Physical intuition does not always lead to the best choice of locations. Since it is often difficult to move hardware, and trial-and-error may not be effective when there are multiple sensors and actuators, analysis is crucial. Integrating controller design with actuator location can lead to better performance without increased controller cost. Similarly, better estimation can be obtained with carefully placed sensors. Proper placement when there are disturbances present is in general different from that appropriate for reducing the response to an initial condition, and both are different from locations based on optimizing controllability or observability. Approximations to the governing equations, often of very high order, are required and this complicates both controller design and optimization of the hardware locations.
Biography
Prof. Kirsten Morris’ research interests are control and estimation of systems modelled by partial differential equations and also systems, such as smart materials, involving hysteresis. She has written an undergraduate textbook "Introduction to Feedback Control", and was editor of the book “Control of Flexible Structures”. She received her PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo and is now a professor in the Applied Mathematics Department at that University. She has also held visiting positions at ICASE (NASA Langley), the Fields Institute and the Institute for Mathematics & Applications. From 2005-2008 she was Associate Dean for Graduate Studies & Research in the Faculty of Mathematics. Prof. Morris served as a vice-president of the IEEE Control System Society from 2013-2016. She is currently vice-chair of the SIAM Control & Systems Theory group. She was an associate editor with the IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control and is an editor for SIAM Journal on Control & Optimization, as well as Mathematics of Control, Signals & Systems and is a member of the editorial board of the SIAM book series Advances in Design & Control.
