Control of distributed-parameter systems using normal forms: an introduction

This paper gives an overview of the control of distributed-parameter systems using normal forms. Considering linear controllable PDE-ODE systems of hyperbolic type, two methods derive tracking controllers by mapping the system into a form that is advantageous for the control design, analogous to the finite-dimensional case. A flatness-based controller makes use of the hyperbolic controller canonical form that follows from a parametrization of the system's solutions. A backstepping design exploits the strict-feedback form of the system to recursively stabilize and transform the subsystems.