Switching time optimization for nonlinear switched systems: direct optimization and the time-scaling transformation (Q2928416)

This important work investigates the problem of choosing optimal values for the switching times so that the switched system under consideration operates in the best possible manner. The STO problem is a type of nonlinear optimization problem in which a finite number of decision variables (the switching times) need to be chosen to minimize a given cost function (typically a function of the final state reached by the system). In principle the proposed problem can be solved using standard nonlinear optimization methods, e.g. sequential quadratic programming. But such methods rely on the gradient of the cost function, which is difficult to compute in the STO problem because of the presence of dynamic constraints. A typical nonlinear switched system in described mathematically in the presented paper.