Markov control problems under communication contraints

Abstract

In traditional control systems theory one assumes that the controller receives the observations from the sensors instantaneously and exactly, and the control action it initiates is immediately effective. In reality, however, the controller and the sensors may be geographically separated from the plant and the observations may be transmitted from the sensors to the controller across a communication channel. In addition to adding noise, the channel can also put a constraint on the rate of information transmission and introduce delays. In a similar way the path from the controller back to the plant can be modeled as a communication channel with noise and delays Hence the need for a control theory that explicitly takes into account these aspects. The aim of the present work is to view the problem in its totality and come up with a set of paradigms that can form a basis for analysis and synthesis of such control systems