Tracking and Regulation Performance Limitations of Networked Control Systems Over Erasure Channel With Input Quantization

Limitations in communication networks, such as delays, packet dropouts, and insufficient bandwidth, create great challenges in the output tracking control and regulation performance of networked control systems. In this article, we propose some novel performance indexes for achieving the optimal tracking and regulation performance. By considering the influences of noise, packet dropouts, and logarithmic quantization on the channel input, the performance limitations of the networked systems are investigated by applying a two-degree-of-freedom (TDOF) control technique. The results obtained prove that the tracking and regulation performance is dependent not only on the position of the plant's nonminimum phase zeros and unstable poles, but also on the directions. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that noise and quantization error have a negative influence on the control performance, and the design of the TDOF controller can eliminate the effect of packet dropouts on control performance. To validate the innovation results, several simulations are conducted.