Fast Hands-Off Control Using ADMM Real-Time Iterations

We investigate the implementation of a sparsitypromoting hands-off control scheme using the alternating direction method of multiplies (ADMM). In order to minimize the numerical control effort along with the actuation one, only a single ADMM iteration per time step is considered. We analyze the resulting closed-loop dynamics for linear systems with additive disturbances and show that the proposed scheme provides sparse controls as desired and, in addition, ensures input-to-state practical stability. We further point out a close relation between the proposed real-time scheme and (nonminimum time) dead-beat control. Finally, characteristics and effectiveness of the novel hands-off controller(s) are illustrated with numerical examples.