Trading computation for bandwidth: reducing communication in distributed control systems using state estimators

Describes a new framework for distributed control systems in which estimators are used at each node to estimate the values of the outputs at the other nodes. The estimated values are then used to compute the control algorithms at each node. When the estimated value deviates from the true value by more than a pre-specified tolerance, the actual value is broadcast to the rest of the system; all of the estimators are then updated to the current value. By using the estimated values instead of true value at every node, a significant saving in the required bandwidth is achieved, allowing large-scale distributed control systems to be implemented effectively. The stability, performance, and expected communication frequency of the reduced communication system are analyzed in detail. Simulation and experimental results validating the effectiveness and communication savings of the framework are also presented.