Neural Network-Aided Sampled-Data Control for a Class of Nonlinear Systems With Unknown Dynamics
Open accessAbstract
This study addresses the stabilization control problem for a class of nonlinear systems with unknown nonlinear dynamics and unmeasurable states. To tackle this problem, we develop anartificial time-delay adaptive sampled-data control(ATASDC) framework using the artificial input delay technique. Specifically, a neural network observer is meticulously designed for state estimation, where theradial basis function neural networks(RBFNNs) are employed to approximate unknown dynamics using sampled output signals. A newLyapunov-Krasovskii(L-K) functional is constructed to account for the sampling effects, leading to a sufficient stability condition derived vialinear matrix inequalities(LMIs). The proposed method achieves semi-global practical exponential convergence of system states to a small compact set, and its effectiveness is validated through a numerical example.
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TL;DR
This brief develops an artificial time-delay adaptive sampled-data control (ATASDC) framework that stabilizes a class of nonlinear systems with unknown dynamics and unmeasurable states, using an RBFNN observer driven only by sampled output measurements. Stability is proved via a Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional and LMIs, yielding semi-global practical exponential convergence to a small compact set, verified on a Chua's circuit simulation.
Key findings
- The proposed ATASDC law (with RBFNN approximation of the unknown nonlinearity and an observer using sampled outputs) guarantees semi-global practical exponential convergence of the states to a compact set Ω_s := {x ∈ R^n | |x_i| ≤ δ*}, with decay constant ϑ* = min{γ₀, γ, 2β} and δ* depending on RBFNN parameters l, c, σ.
- A sufficient stability condition is given as an LMI (Ξ < 0) in positive-definite matrices S, W₀…W_{n-1}, R₁…R_{n-1}; Remark 1 notes Ξ₁₁ < 0 restricts the sampling period h, which must be chosen small enough.
- In the Chua's circuit simulation, the LMIs are feasible for h in the range (0, 1.436] s, and with h = 1.436 s the states converge to |x₁(t)| = 1.34 × 10⁻¹⁷ V, |x₂(t)| = 1.38 × 10⁻¹⁷ V, and |x₃(t)| = 2.60 × 10⁻¹⁷ A at t = 100 s.
- The RBFNN observer is configured with 11 nodes, centers c_j = 0.1 × (j − 6), widths σ_j = 5, and initial adaptive parameter θ_f = 1.
Methods
- Design: a continuous-time nonlinear system ẋ = Ax + B(f(y) + u), y = Cx with unknown continuous f(y) and relative degree n ≥ 2 (Assumption 1); sampled output y(t_k) at t_k = kh with constant period h and ZOH on u(t).
- Approach: finite differences of sampled outputs approximate output derivatives; an RBFNN-based sampled-data observer (gain L with A − LC Hurwitz) estimates states, and the ATASDC law u(t) = Σ M̄_i y(t_{k−i}) − θ_f Ψ_f(y(t_k)) with weight update θ̇_f = −Ψ_f(y(t_k)) x̂ᵀPB − γθ_f.
- Analysis: a composite Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional (V₁, V₂, V₃, V_γ, V_ν, V_η) yields V̇_c ≤ −ϑ*V_c + ε*, giving exponential convergence; validated by numerical simulation of a Chua's circuit system with C₁ = 1 F, C₂ = 2.5 F, R₁ = 0.25 Ω, R₀ = 138/1487 Ω, L₁ = 100/1487 H, initial states x(0) = [0.3, 0, 0], L = [1, 2, 3]ᵀ, P = diag(2, 1, 1), B = [1, 0, 0]ᵀ.
Limitations
- Stated: Remark 1 notes that Ξ₁₁ < 0 is necessary for Ξ < 0, restricting h, which must be selected small enough; the conclusion states future work will extend the framework to more general classes of nonlinear systems.
- Evident from the text: the stability result is only semi-global (not global), and the theoretical guarantee is validated by a single numerical example (Chua's circuit) with no experimental or comparative benchmark; the RBFNN approximation error bound ε*_s and the compact set size depend on RBFNN parameters (l, c, σ) whose tuning is not systematically addressed.
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Claims the paper makes
0 of 4 cited sources checked · 0 supported · 0 flagged
- Findingreasoning
The proposed ATASDC method achieves semi-global practical exponential convergence of the system states to a small compact set.
“The proposed method achieves semi-global practical exponential convergence of system states to a small compact set, and its effectiveness is validated through a numerical example.”
- Also stated in: § Abstract · boosted
“Furthermore, we prove that the proposed method guarantees semi-global practical exponential convergence of the system states to a small compact set, and its effectiveness is demonstrated through a numerical example.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim- The authors state this as an assumption: The system (1) with controllable pair (A, B) and observable pair (C, A) possesses relative degree n ≥ 2.
- The authors state this as an assumption: f(y) is an unknown continuous nonlinear function defined over the compact set Ω_f.
- Also stated in: § Abstract · boosted
- Findingreasoning
The designed neural network-based observer estimates the system states using sampled output signals.
“we design a neural network-based observer that estimates system states using sampled outputs.”
- Also stated in: § B. Neural Network Sampled-Data Observer Design · plain
“a sampled-data observer is constructed to facilitate the state estimation using sampled output signals.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Also stated in: § B. Neural Network Sampled-Data Observer Design · plain
- Premisenone given
The problem of sampled-data control for systems with unknown nonlinearities and limited output information remains significantly underexplored.
“However, the problem remains significantly underexplored, particularly for systems with unknown nonlinearities and limited output information.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Premisecitation
Existing sampled-data studies typically require the global Lipschitz assumption on the system for handling nonlinearity, necessitating precise knowledge of the nonlinearities.
“However, these studies typically require the global Lipschitz assumption on the system for handling nonlinearity, necessitating precise knowledge of the nonlinearities.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
- May combine two claims. 4
- The quote only partly states this claim. 3
- Classified as probably not a substantial claim. 1
May combine two claims.
Findingown dataFor the Chua's circuit system, the LMIs in Theorem 1 are feasible for controller gains when the sampling period h is in the range (0, 1.436], guaranteeing exponential stabilization of the closed-loop system via sampled-data controller (9).
“For system (1), the LMIs in Theorem 1 are feasible for controller gains when h is in the range (0, 1.436], guaranteeing exponential stabilization of the closed-loop system via sampled-data controller (9), and the sampling period is h = 1.436s.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimMay combine two claims.
Findingown dataIn the numerical simulation, at t = 100 s the system states converge with high accuracy: |x1(t)| = 1.34×10^-17 V, |x2(t)| = 1.38×10^-17 V, and |x3(t)| = 2.60×10^-17 A.
“In particular, at t = 100s, |x 1 (t)| = 1.34 × 10 -17 V, |x 2 (t)| = 1.38 × 10 -17 V, and |x 3 (t)| = 2.60 × 10 -17 A, which illustrate the high convergence accuracy of system states.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimMay combine two claims. The quote only partly states this claim.
FindingreasoningThe observer estimation error ξ and the neural network weight estimation error θ̃_f are uniformly ultimately bounded.
“We can infer that θ f uniformly ultimately bounded, meaning θ f ≤ , where depend on the initial value θ f (0).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimThe quote only partly states this claim.
Findingnone givenAn L-K functional is constructed for the closed-loop system, leading to a sufficient stability condition in the form of an LMI.
“Third, an L-K functional is constructed, leading to a stability condition in the form of an LMI.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimThe quote only partly states this claim.
FindingreasoningUnder Assumption 1, applying the ATASDC law (11) to system (1), if there exist positive-definite matrices S and W_0,...,W_{n-1}, R_1,...,R_{n-1} such that the LMI Ξ<0 holds, then for any positive constant δ>0 and any initial condition (x(0), θ_f(0)), the 2-norm of the state estimation error x̃(t) converges to the set Ω_s at an exponential rate θ*.
“By applying the ATASDC law (11) to system (1), it concludes that if there exist positive-definite matrices S ∈ R n×n and W 0 , W 1 , . . ., W n-1 , R 1 , R 2 , . . ., R n-1 ∈ R m×m such that the subsequent LMI holds:”
- Also stated in: § D. Stability Guarantee · plain
“then for any positive constant δ > 0 and ∀(x(0), θ f (0)) ∈ R n × R, the 2-norm of x(t) converges to the set Ω s := {x ∈ R n | |x i | ≤ δ * } at an exponential rate denoted by the decay constant ϑ *”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim- The authors state this as an assumption: The system (1) with controllable pair (A, B) and observable pair (C, A) possesses relative degree n ≥ 2.
- The authors state this as an assumption: f(y) is an unknown continuous nonlinear function defined over the compact set Ω_f.
- Also stated in: § D. Stability Guarantee · plain
May combine two claims.
InterpretationreasoningThe proposed method avoids requiring precise nonlinearity knowledge by approximating functions via RBFNNs using only sampled outputs, thereby reducing computational complexity.
“Unlike existing approaches [14], [25], the method avoids requiring precise nonlinearity knowledge by approximating functions via RBFNNs using only sampled outputs, thereby reducing computational complexity.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checkedClassified as probably not a substantial claim.
PremisereasoningLeveraging the universal approximation property, the RBFNN approximates any continuous function f(y) over R^p as f(y) = θ*_f Ψ_f(y) + ε.
“Leveraging its universal approximation property, the RBFNN approximates any continuous function f (y) over R p as f (y) = θ * f Ψ f (y) + , ∀y ∈ R p .”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
The authors state this as an assumption.
The system (1) with controllable pair (A, B) and observable pair (C, A) possesses relative degree n ≥ 2.
“Assumption 1: The system with controllable pair (A, B) and observable pair (C, A) possesses relative degree n ≥ 2, which means CA ι B = 0 and CA n-1 B 0 for ι = 0, 1, . . ., n -2.”
The authors state this as an assumption.
f(y) is an unknown continuous nonlinear function defined over the compact set Ω_f.
“f (y) : R p → R m is presumed to be an unknown continuous nonlinear function defined over the compact set Ω f ∈ R m .”
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.
Derivative of the delay functional drops its i = 0 term
MinorBoth sums defining V include i = 0, but the stated derivative in (21) starts at i = 1. Since the omitted terms involve the sampled output and 0, they are not generally zero; the derivative used in the stability proof does not account for the whole functional.
“V (t) = n-1 X i=1 Ä h 2 Mi ẏi W i Mi ẏi - π 2 4 e -2βh i W i i -2βV (t) (21”
“V (t) := h 2 n-1 X i=0 Z t t k e -2β(t-τ) Mi ẏi (τ) W i Mi ẏi (τ) dτ - π 2 4 e -2βh n-1 X i=0 Z t t k e -2β(t-τ) i W i i (τ)dτ (16d”
Neural-network input dimension disagrees with sampled-output dimension
MinorThe network is described as having n inputs, while its stated input is y(tk) ∈ R^p and its receptive-field centers are in R^p. The paper does not require p = n, so these are inconsistent input dimensions.
“The RBFNN contains an n-input, l-hidden, and 1output layer structure.”
“Since y(t k ) = [y 1 (t k ), y 2 (t k ), . . ., y p (t k )] ∈ R p can be measured at different time instants t k , the unknown dynamics f (y) are approximated by RBFNNs θ * f Ψ f (y(t k ))”
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Self-citation
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Zhou, N., Zhao, C., Cheng, X.-D., et al. (2026) · IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man & Cybernetics. Systems · doi:10.1109/tsmc.2025.3648683 · Cited by 2
“In our previous works [12], [39], [40], [41], RBFNNs have shown their capability of approximating unknown non-linear functions for integration with control design and Lyapunov-based stability analysis.”
Self-citationZhu, Y.-J., Wang, X.-L., Wang, T.-Z., et al. (2026) · Ocean Engineering · doi:10.1016/j.oceaneng.2026.124643
- Authors
- Zhou, N., Yan, J., Xia, Y., Li, T., & Cheng, X.
- Affiliations
- Hebei University of Science and Technology (CN)
- School of Sciences, Hebei University of Science and Technology, Shijiazhuang, China
- Beijing Institute of Technology (CN)
- Wageningen University & Research (NL)
- Venue
- IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems II: Express Briefs
- Published
- 2025-12
- Volume
- 72
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 1992-1996
- ISSN
- 1549-7747 (ISSN-L)
- 1558-3791
- OpenAlex
- W4415047682
- Cited by
- 0
- References
- 25
- FWCI
- 0.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- research.wur.nl
- Licence
- Locations
- IEEE Transactions on Circuits & Systems II Express Briefs (publishedVersion)
- Socio-Environmental Systems Modeling (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (U24A6005, 62473046, 62373123, 62503149)
- Science Research Project of Hebei Education Department (JZX2023005)
- Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province (F2022208007, F2024203102, 23311803D, 22280802Z, F2024208002, F2024208025)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Control and Systems Engineering › Stability and Control of Uncertain Systems
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Networks and Communications › Neural Networks Stability and Synchronization
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Control and Systems Engineering › Adaptive Control of Nonlinear Systems
- Keywords
- sampled-data control, nonlinear systems, unknown dynamics, unmeasurable states, neural network observer, radial basis function neural network, Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional, linear matrix inequalities, stabilization control
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