Optimal control of networked systems via asynchronous communication channels with irregular delays

The paper is directed towards development of a new chapter of control theory that deals with networked systems in which control and communication issues are combined together, and all the delays and limitations of the communication channels between sensors, actuators, and controllers are taken into account. We consider a situation where a single decision-maker both receives the sensor data and controls many linear discrete-time partially observed subsystems perturbed by white noises via randomly delayed communication channels with finite capacities. Neither these delays nor their statistics are known in advance, but each message transmitted is equipped with a "time stamp" indicating the time of the transfer beginning. Under certain assumptions, a finite horizon linear-quadratic optimal control problem is solved.