Adaptive Approximation Based Control-Unifying Neural, Fuzzy and Traditional Adaptive Approximation Approaches [Book review; J.A. Farrell and M.M. Polycarpou]

This book, by two of the key people who have developed rigorous methods in the arena of Intelligent Control, provides a long-awaited overall perspective that unifies nonlinear network approximators and adaptive control techniques. The focus of the book is continuous-time adaptive systems. The text consists of eight chapters. Some of the topics discussed include: approximation theory; approximation structures used in Intelligent Control; methods for formulating parametric models; extensions to nonlinear control architectures; control of nonlinear scalar systems; an all-purpose theory of adaptive approximation-based control for general nonlinear systems; and applications to controls design for fixed-wing aircraft. Exercises and design problems at the end of each chapter magnify the usefulness of this book. Intuitive clarity of exposition and mathematical rigor are extremely well-balanced to provide a book that can be used to introduce these concepts to a graduate student class or to industry engineers, and yet also satisfy the most demanding of theoreticians.