This treatment of modern topics related
to the control of nonlinear systems is a collection of contributions
celebrating the work of Professor Henk Nijmeijer and honoring his 60th
birthday. It addresses several topics that have been the core of Professor
Nijmeijer’s work, namely: the control of nonlinear systems, geometric control
theory, synchronization, coordinated control, convergent systems and the
control of underactuated systems. The book presents recent advances in these
areas, contributed by leading international researchers in systems and control.
In addition to the theoretical questions treated in the text, particular
attention is paid to a number of applications including (mobile) robotics,
marine vehicles, neural dynamics and mechanical systems generally.
This volume provides
a broad picture of the analysis and control of nonlinear systems for scientists
and engineers with an interest in the interdisciplinary field of systems and
control theory. The reader will benefit from the expert participants’ ideas on important
open problems with contributions that represent the state of the art in
nonlinear control.