Stochastic optimal control over unreliable communication links

Journal article, 2022

In this paper LQG control over unreliable communication links is derived. That is to say, the communication channels between the controller and the actuators and between the sensors and the controller are unreliable. This is of growing importance as networked control systems and use of wireless communication in control are becoming increasingly common. The problem of how to optimize LQG control in this case is examined in the situation where communication between the components is done with acknowledgments. Previous solutions to finite horizon discrete time hold-input LQG control for this case do not fully utilize the available information. Here a new solution is presented which resolves this limitation. The solution is linear and covers communication channels subject to both packet losses and delays. The new control scheme is compared with previous solutions for LQG control in simulations, which demonstrates that a significant improvement in the cost can be achieved by fully utilizing the available information.