Integrated Control and Estimation Based on Sliding Mode Control: Full-state Feedback Control with Variable Structure Systems and Filtering

Many problems in tracking control have been identified over the years, such as the availability of systems states, the presence of noise and system uncertainties, and speed of response, just to name a few. This research is concerned with developing novel integrated control and estimation algorithms to overcome some of these problems in order to achieve an efficient tracking performance. Since there are some significant advantages associated with Sliding Mode Control (SMC) or Variable Structure Control (VSC), (fast regulation rate and robustness to uncertainties), this research reviews and extends new filtering concepts for state estimation, referred to as the Variable Structure Filter (VSF) and Smooth Variable Structure Filter (SVSF). The VSF is combined seamlessly with the SMC to produce an integrated controller called a Sliding Mode Controller and Filter (SMCF). This new controller is shown to be a robust and effective integrated control strategy for linear systems. For nonlinear systems, a novel integrated control strategy called the Smooth Sliding Mode Controller and Filter (SSMCF), fuses the SMC and SVSF in a particular form to address nonlinearities.