An LQG-Inspired Framework for Self-Powered Feedback Control

A control system is termed "self-powered" if it can operate solely using the energy extracted from the response of the plant in which it is embedded. Due to dissipative losses in the control transducers, associated power electronics, and the energy storage subsystem, self-powered control laws must adhere to feasibility conditions that are more stringent than classical passivity. In this paper, we present a two-stage framework for the synthesis of self-powered feedback controllers, assuming a stochastic disturbance model and a mean-square performance objective. In the first stage, we optimize an LTI, colocated feedback law that adheres to the self-powered feasibility constraint. In the second stage, we design a nonlinear, full-state feedback controller that is guaranteed to improve upon the closed-loop performance obtained by the first stage design and maintain feasibility. We explore a numerical example that demonstrates a novel application of self-powered control involving the virtual "coupling" of two civil structures excited by an earthquake disturbance.