Multiscale approach to the control of smart materials
Kenneth C. Chou, Gary S. Guthart, David S. Flamm · Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 1995
The development of control technology specifically for smart materials has lagged substantially behind that of the base materials, transducers and embedding techniques. Still, development of materials with ever- greater numbers of embedded elements continues, spurred by potential uses that require large arrays of sensors and actuators. No control technology suitable for such large arrays exists, however, and this presents a barrier to future applications. In this paper we report on work aimed at developing and demonstrating technology capable of controlling hundreds or thousands of sensors and actuators embedded in the base material. We have dubbed this the 'KIKO control problem' (Kilo- Input/Kilo-Output) for smart materials. This paper focuses on a new multiscale/multirate theory of hierarchical design based on the wavelet transform. In the context of this theory, we develop efficient and highly scalable implementations of control systems using multiprocessor architectures. The paper covers: a description of our multiscale control approach, simulation results on an Euler-Bernoulli beam, and open issues.