Control Systems with Communication Constraints
Summary
Control systems with communication constraints integrate feedback loops over networks subject to limited data rates, latency and packet loss. Such systems span applications from smart energy grids and autonomous vehicles to industrial automation and distributed robotics. The central challenge lies in balancing control performance with communication resources, as quantisation, sampling strategies and packet scheduling directly influence stability and responsiveness. Traditional periodic sampling can lead to inefficient use of bandwidth, whereas event-triggered and adaptive schemes reduce transmissions by sending information only when certain state thresholds are crossed. Information-theoretic methods, including rate-distortion analysis and channel coding, have been applied to characterise fundamental limits on estimation accuracy and control cost under bandwidth constraints. Recent advances explore incremental and predictive coding techniques that allow actuators to act on partially received data, as well as multiple-description approaches that enhance robustness to packet erasures. At the same time, the interplay between uncertain plant models and network delay demands robust encoding and control designs that guarantee input-to-state stability despite disturbances. The global significance of this field is underscored by the proliferation of the industrial internet of things and the demand for reliable remote operation of critical infrastructure under stringent communication budgets.
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Control Systems with Communication Constraints publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in control systems with communication constraints across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Networked control system: A feedback control loop closed over a communication network linking sensors, controllers and actuators.
Event-triggered sampling: A scheme in which sensor measurements are transmitted only when predefined state or error thresholds are exceeded.
Quantisation: The process of mapping continuous signal values to a finite set of digital levels for transmission.
Bit rate: The number of bits transmitted per unit time over a communication channel, directly affecting latency and throughput.
Incremental coding: A technique whereby partially received packets enable early control action, reducing effective delay.
Markov jump linear system: A model describing systems whose parameters switch among several linear dynamics according to a Markov process.
References
- Incremental Coding for Real-Time Remote Control over Bandwidth-Limited Channels and Its Applications in Smart Grids †. Entropy (2024).
- A bit rate condition for feedback stabilization of uncertain switched systems with external disturbances based on event triggering. IET Control Theory and Applications (2024).
- Output Feedback Control of Sine-Gordon Chain over the Limited Capacity Digital Communication Channel. Electronics (2023).
- Multiple descriptions for packetized predictive control. EURASIP Journal on Advances in Signal Processing (2016).
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