Geometric optimal control. Theory, methods and examples (Q411319)

The monograph under review concerns finite-dimensional deterministic optimal control problems. The principal subject consists in a comprehensive treatment of the fundamental necessary and sufficient conditions for optimality with emphasis on the geometric aspects of the theory. The main body of the book is divided into seven chapters. The first chapter is introductory and contains the fundamental results of the calculus of variations organized around complete solutions of two cornerstone classical examples: the brachistochrone problem and the problem of surfaces of revolution of minimum area. The second chapter is devoted to the Pontryagin maximum principle with the focus on illustrating how this result can be used to solve problems. To this end, the authors introduce important Lie-derivative-based techniques that form the basis for geometric optimal control and use them to give a detailed derivation of H. Sussmann's results on the structure of time-optimal controls for nonlinear control-affine systems in the plane. The third chapter deals with some of the classical results about linear time-invariant systems: a proof of the convexity of the reachable sets and two formulations of the celebrated bang-bang theorem. In chapter 4 the Pontryagin maximum principle is proved. Chapters 5 and 6 deal with sufficient conditions for optimality, both local and global. Chapter 7 concludes the text with illustrating how the presented techniques can be used in low dimensions to determine small-time reachable sets exactly. The material in this chapter has never been presented before in book form. The variety of fully solved examples that illustrate the theory makes this text a strong educational asset. The book is recommended as a comprehensive textbook for both advanced undergraduate and all levels of graduate courses on optimal control in mathematics and engineering.