Right-invertibility for a class of nonlinear control systems: A geometric approach (Q1091327)

The paper attempts at clarifying the concept of right-invertibility (functional reproducibility) for analytic affine control systems. The approach adopted goes through the so-called ''invariant subdistribution algorithm'' toward expressing conditions for the right-invertibility of a system in terms of its structure at infinity. There are two points in the paper of particular importance. The first is a demonstration that, contrary to the linear case, it only makes sense of speaking about local right-invertibility of nonlinear systems, i.e. an output signal is reproducible only over a definite (small) interval of time. The second point lies in finding necessary and sufficient conditions for the local right-invertibility of a class of affine systems satisfying assumption A1 due to Isidori [cf. \textit{A. Isidori}, Algebraic and geometric methods in nonlinear control theory, Proc. Conf., Paris 1985, Math. Appl., D. Reidel Publ. Co. 29, 121-146 (1986)]. This being so, the paper answers affirmatively conjecture P4 stated in the reference above.