Efficient pruning of search trees in LQR control of switched linear systems

Considers off-line optimization of a switching sequence for a given finite set of linear control systems and joint optimization of control laws. A linear quadratic full information criterion is optimized and dynamic programming is used to find the optimal switching sequence and control laws. The main result is a method for efficient pruning of the search tree to avoid combinatoric explosion. A method to prove optimality of a found candidate switch sequence and corresponding control laws is presented.