From Youla-Kucera to identification, adaptive and nonlinear control (Q1294984)

Starting with the Youla-Kucera parametrization based on fractional descriptions of plants and controllers via stable rational transfer functions, one presents the more recent parametrization into state-space formulas (with applications to approximate loop transfer recovery, and to adaptive control) and the solution to \(H_2\) and \(H_\infty\) problems with constrained pole positions. For solving closed-loop identification problems, the basis is a dual parametrization (for all plants stabilized by a fixed controller) for the reduction to standard open-loop problems, and for the application of this concept to an adaptive control methodology (windsurfer adaptive control). Using Youla-Kucera parameters simultaneously associated with plant and controller, one evaluates the changes in the controller determined by small changes in a plant, when the design issue is stability, \(H_2\) optimality or \(H_\infty\) gain limitation. The very recent work on nonlinear systems is also presented, including closed-loop identification, and Youla-Kucera parametrizations for general nonlinear plant-controller interconnections. Many examples illustrate the approached problems and finally one records some of the issues that are not well addressed by the Youla-Kucera parameter idea and its variants. In fact these explicitly round off this excellent tutorial survey paper.