AN APPROXIMATION METHOD FOR THE NONLINEAR SERVOMECHANISM PROBLEM

A recent analysis of the nonlinear servomechanism problem by the authors is shown to lead naturally to a straightforward and practical method for solving the problem in an approximate sense. The results are based on a kth-order approximate of the plant zero-error manifold, and corresponding control law constructions are shown to yield kth-order asymptotic tracking and disturbance rejection properties for the closed-loop system. The approach is illustrated by application to the well-known ball and beam system.