New Vistas: Multi-Agent Hybrid Systems

Abstract

Nonlinear control is very much a growing endeavor, with many new results and techniques being introduced. In the summary sections of each of the preceding chapters we have given the reader a sense of the excitement surrounding each of the new directions. In this chapter, we talk about another area of tremendous recent excitement: hybrid systems. The growth of this area is almost directly attributable to advances in computation, communication, and new methods of distributed sensing and actuation, which makes it critical to have methods for designing and analyzing systems which involve interaction between software and electro-mechanical systems. In this chapter, we give a sense of the research agenda in two areas where this activity is especially current: embedded control and multi-agent distributed control systems.