A unifying Lyapunov-based framework for the event-triggered control of nonlinear systems

Abstract: We present a prescriptive framework for the event-triggered control of nonlinear systems. Rather than closing the loop periodically, as traditionally done in digital control, in event-triggered implementations the loop is closed according to a state-dependent criterion. Event-triggered control is especially well suited for embedded systems and networked control systems since it reduces the amount of resources needed for control such as communication bandwidth. By modeling the event-triggered implementations as hybrid systems, we provide Lyapunov-based conditions to guarantee the stability of the resulting closed-loop system and explain how they can be utilized to synthesize event-triggering rules. We illustrate the generality of the approach by showing how it encompasses several existing event-triggering policies and by developing new strategies which further reduce the resources needed for control.