Sensitivity Analysis for Linear Systems based on Reachability Sets

The problem of deciding which inputs in a model influence the most the state or output is often of practical importance, especially in the cases in which the system can be over-parameterized. In this context, a designer is required to perform sensitivity analyses so as to select which inputs are the most relevant to the problem at hand and remove those with smaller or no impact. In this paper, we tackle this issue by constructing the exact reachable set of a linear system that relates the inputs with the state of that system. By means of projections and solutions of linear optimization programs, we are able to assess which inputs drive the most the state or the output of a linear system. Illustrative examples are presented in order to provide insights on the proposed method.