Applications of contraction analysis

Abstract

Recently, there has been considerable interest in analyzing feedback controllers for biological motor control systems as combinations of simpler elements, or motion primitives. Similarly, although its connection to biology is somewhat looser, research on "artificial neural networks" has also studied the use of basis functions (or, more generally, frames) in adaptive nonlinear control. Contraction analysis (Lohmiller and Slotine, 1996, 1997) may provide useful tools to analyze such systems, as this paper sketches. We also discuss related applications to the control of flexible robots.