Differentially flat systems

Muruhan Rathinam, Control and Dynamical Systems, Caltech

Differentially flat systems are underdetermined systems of differential equations whose solutions can be parameterized by $p$ arbitrary functions, where $p$ is the number of equations by which the system is underdetermined. In the control context this is same as the number of inputs. Differentially flat systems possess several nice properties which make them easier to control.

In this talk we explain differential flatness, some existing results in characterization and some of their applications, focusing on numerical solutions of optimal control problems.