Professor Maruthi R. Akella
Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics Controls Lab for Distributed and Uncertain Systems, The University of Texas at Austin, USA.
URL: http://cdus.ae.utexas.edu

Abstract

A large number of emerging aerospace engineering applications are addressing the development of autonomous control systems with agile maneuvering and robust perception inside dynamic, complex and uncertain environments well beyond the limits of what is currently feasible. In this seminar, we present an overview of some recent advances in nonlinear stability theory and robust adaptive control. In particular, we discuss new and extremely powerful mathematical tools – Lyapunov Strictification and Filter Embedment – for dynamical systems that are subject to non-affine uncertainty characterizations and nonlinear parameterization constraints within the overall control architecture. Historically, it is well known that these control problems are extremely difficult to solve resulting in the unfortunate and wide-spread adoption of Procrustean schemes. By taking the new strictification and embedment approaches, we can identify large classes of aero-mechanical systems that result in stable closed-loop designs together with performance guarantees and thus, can be efficiently solved. The seminar concludes with a brief discussion of space systems applications that include rapid responsive space situational awareness, closed-loop guidance for asteroid rendezvous missions, on-orbit tunable controllers for spacecraft attitude dynamics, and UAV enabled coordinated target pursuit.

Speaker Bio

Maruthi R. Akella currently holds the rank of Associate Professor with tenure and directs the Controls Lab for Distributed and Uncertain Systems (C-DUS) in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at the University of Texas at Austin. He received his PhD in Aerospace Engineering in 1998 from Texas A&M University and prior to joining the UT Austin faculty, he was a postdoctoral fellow with the Yale University Center for Systems Science. Dr. Akella's research program encompasses control theoretic investigations of nonlinear and coordinated systems, vision-based sensing for state estimation, and development of integrated human and autonomous multivehicle systems. He currently serves as Associate Editor for the Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics (JGCD) and the IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems (T-AES). Dr. Akella is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.