Prescribed-Time Control and Its Latest Developments

Prescribed-time (PT) control for nonlinear systems, originated from Song et al., has gained increasing attention among the control community. The salient feature of PT control lies in its ability to achieve system stability within a finite settling time user-assignable in advance irrespective of initial conditions. It is such a unique feature that has enticed many follow-up studies on this technically important area, motivating numerous research advancements. In this article, we provide a comprehensive survey on the recent developments in PT control. Through a concise introduction to the concept of PT control, and a unique taxonomy covering: 1) from robust PT control to adaptive PT control; 2) from PT control for single-input–single-output (SISO) systems to multi-input–multioutput (MIMO) systems; and 3) from PT control for an isolated system to multiagent systems, we present an accessible review of this interesting topic. We highlight key techniques, and fundamental assumptions adopted in various developments as well as some new design ideas. We also discuss several possible future research directions toward PT control.