Synthesis of time-optimal control in a third-order system (Q1595592)

The paper deals with a third-order controllable system \( \dot x=y\), \(\dot y=z\), \(\dot z=u\;\) with the constraint \(|u(t)|\leq 1\;\) imposed on the control action. The initial conditions for the state system are \( x(0)=x_0\), \(y(0)=y_0\), \(z(0)=z_0\;\). The aim of the problem is to construct a control transforming the state system from an arbitrary initial state to the given final state \(x(T)=0\), \(y(T)=0\;\) with an arbitrary \(z(T)\) for the shortest time \(T\). The authors applied the maximum principle with the Hamiltonian \(H=p_xy+p_yz+p_zu\) with the conjugate variables \(p_x\), \(p_y\), \(p_z\;\) fulfilling the conjugate equations \(\dot p_x =0\), \(\dot p_y=-p _x\), \(\dot p_z=-p_y.\) The optimal control can be expressed in the form \(u(t)=\text{sgn} p_z(t)\) with no more than one switching for \(t\leq T\).