Input-to-state stabilization of linear systems under data-rate constraints

arXiv:2603.28016 · eess.SY, cs.SY, math.OC · Submitted 2026-03-30 · Read on arXiv

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Introduction to the show: ident: Robotics Radio. Generated commentary on the latest robotics and control papers.

Rosa: Today's paper: "Input-to-state stabilization of linear systems under data-rate constraints".

Dev: A communication and control strategy is proposed for feedback stabilization of linear systems under data-rate constraints in the presence of completely unknown disturbances,

Rosa: First, who's behind it and why it matters.

Paper summary: Dev: To wrap up, we've discussed this paper, "Input-to-state stabilization of linear systems under data-rate constraints," which proposes a communication and control strategy for feedback stabilization under unknown disturbances while respecting data rate limits.

Rosa: The main thrust is that by alternating between stabilizing and searching stages based on state visibility within a quantization range, the authors establish input-to-state stability with respect to the disturbance.

Taro: What this means in simpler terms is that even if you have an unknown disturbance affecting your system, as long as your data transmission rate meets their specified condition:= eA tau s < N, the state of your system will remain bounded according to a predictable function involving the initial state and the disturbance magnitude.

Dev: They characterized this stability by functions gamma one gamma two and gamma three belonging to the class K infinity. This means we get explicit mathematical bounds on how large the state can get based on how big your initial error is or how strong your unknown disturbance is.

Rosa: The implication for us is that this provides a rigorous framework for designing controllers where communication bandwidth is limited, giving us concrete stability guarantees instead of just relying on practical performance.

Taro: For the broader impact, this suggests new ways to build autonomous systems that need robust control in environments where precise state knowledge isn't always available due to constraints like limited sensors or low-bandwidth links.

Dev: The paper's title highlights the core trade-off they solved: achieving strong stability properties under data rate constraints using sampled and quantized measurements.

Rosa: So, we have a method that tackles uncertainty in disturbances through a structured communication strategy tailored to the limitations of network systems.

Conclusion: Rosa: So, we've seen how this paper tackles stabilizing linear systems when you can't send data fast enough due to bandwidth limits or quantization issues.

Dev: That’s right, and the core idea is using a specific communication and control strategy to maintain stability against disturbances even when your sensor information is imperfect.

Rosa: Thinking about the title itself, "Input-to-state stabilization of linear systems under data-rate constraints," it sounds pretty technical, but essentially it's about making sure a system stays stable even when the data pipeline is choked.

Dev: Exactly, and the authors are proposing a method that alternates between stabilizing and searching phases to handle those rate limitations effectively.

Rosa: What does that mean in practical terms for someone building something outside of a perfect lab setting? How long can we expect this to work reliably in the real world before things get too messy?

Dev: Well, the authors show they've put together a framework that ensures input-to-state stability with respect to the disturbance, meaning the system's state won't explode regardless of how hard the disturbance hits, as long as you meet their data rate condition.

Rosa: That sounds promising for field robotics, but what about when things get really bad—like when a major unexpected event throws your system into chaos? What does Taro see in terms of robustness against the world misbehaving?

Dev: Taro is looking at how this methodology handles unpredictable events, and he points out that the search stage guarantees some form of capture or recovery if the state gets lost, which is crucial for autonomous operation.

Rosa: It sounds like a solid theoretical foundation, but what’s the actual impact this could have on how we design systems that operate in truly unstructured environments?

Dev: The real impact is providing a concrete mathematical guarantee—those K infinity functions—so engineers can design controllers knowing exactly what level of disturbance they can tolerate within those communication constraints.

Rosa: So, it moves us beyond just trial and error when we’re dealing with limited bandwidth and uncertainty, which is a big step for practical deployment.

Dev: Precisely, it gives us the tools to engineer systems that are more robust in real-world scenarios where perfect state knowledge isn't always available.

Rosa: It seems like this work lays a really important groundwork for future autonomous systems that need to be resilient under communication stress.

Rutgers University

eess.SY, cs.SY, math.OC

Submitted: 2026-03-30

Updated: 2026-10-02

License: http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/

Importance score: 77/100

The gist: A communication and control strategy is proposed for feedback stabilization of linear systems under data-rate constraints in the presence of completely unknown disturbances, establishing

Key concepts

Input-to-State Stability (ISS)
A property ensuring that if you know how large a disturbance is, you can guarantee that the system's state will not grow indefinitely. The paper proves this stability in terms of bounding the state by functions related to the initial condition and the disturbance.
Data-Rate Condition ($\Lambda$)
This constraint links the sensor sampling period ($\tau_s$) and the number of possible states ($N$). It ensures that there is a minimum required data transmission rate necessary for the control strategy to function effectively under quantization limits.
Stabilizing vs. Searching Stages
The control alternates between two modes: stabilizing, where the controller actively tries to keep the state close to a known set, and searching, where it transmits information (or waits) when the state is lost within a certain range. This alternation is key to recovering and bounding the system's error.

Terminology

Summary

A communication and control strategy is proposed for feedback stabilization of linear systems under data-rate constraints in the presence of completely unknown disturbances, establishing input-to-state stability (ISS) with respect to the disturbance.

System Model and Information Structure

The paper considers a continuous-time linear system described by the differential equation:

x˙ = Ax + Bu + Dd, x(0) = x0, where x is the state, u is the control input, and d is an unknown disturbance assumed to be Lebesgue measurable and locally essentially bounded. The first basic assumption requires that the pair (A, B) is stabilizable. The information structure involves a sensor sampling the state at times tk = kτs with a fixed sampling period τs > 0, where each sample x(tk) is encoded as an integer ik ∈ [0, Nnx + 1], resulting in a data transmission rate of log2(Nnx + 2)/τs bits per unit time. A second basic assumption imposes the data-rate condition: Λ:=∥eAτs∥ < N, which links the sampling period τs and integer N to impose a lower bound on the admissible data rate.

Communication and Control Strategy

The proposed strategy alternates between stabilizing and searching stages based on whether the state is visible or lost within a quantization range Rk, which approximates the reachable set of the state. If in a stabilizing stage, if x(tk) ≤ Ek/N, the sensor transmits ik = 1; otherwise, it transmits an index ik ≥ 2 corresponding to a cell center ck. The controller then applies u(t) = Kxˆ(t), where xˆ evolves according to ˙x̂ = Ax̂ + Bu with the boundary condition x̂(tk) = ck. If in a searching stage, the sensor transmits ik = 0, and the control input is set to zero on [tk, tk+1). The quantization range Rk is dynamically adjusted using formulas derived from reachable-set approximations.

Stability Analysis and ISS Guarantee

The main result establishes an input-to-state stability (ISS) property with respect to the disturbance, characterized by functions γ1, γ2, and γ3 belonging to the class K∞. The closed-loop solution satisfies:

x(t) ≤ γ1(x0) + γ2(∥d∥[0,∞)) ∀ t ≥ 0 (3)

and

lim sup t→∞ x(t) ≤ γ3 lim sup t→∞ d(t) (4).

The proof relies on alternating between searching and stabilizing stages. During stabilizing stages, the function Vk:= V (x∗k, Ek) is shown to be a Lyapunov-type function with exponential decay, satisfying Vk+1 ≤ νVk where ν ∈ (0, 1). The analysis uses several technical lemmas to bound the state evolution:

(33)

x(tk) ≤ C3ν(k−l−1)/2p Vl + Φ∥d∥[tk−1,tk]

During searching stages, the strategy guarantees finite-time (re)capture of the state. Lemma 6 ensures that if the state is lost at t0 = 0, it is captured at some sampling time ti0 satisfying an inequality involving ηx and ηd functions. Lemma 8 further guarantees that if the state escapes at tj > 0, it is recaptured at some sampling time ti > tj.

Characterization of Gain Functions

The gain functions γ1, γ2, and γ3 are constructed by combining bounds derived from the alternating stages.

(42)

γ1(s):= max[γˆx0(s), χ¯1(E0, s)]

γ2(s):= max[γˆd0(s), χ¯2(E0, s), γˆ(s), γ¯(s)]

where κ∞ functions are used to ensure the required properties.

The final bound (4) is established by showing that if only finitely many searching stages occur, the system eventually remains in a stabilizing stage, leading to:

lim sup k→∞ x(tk) ≤ Φ lim sup t→∞ d(t) with γ3(s):= max[Φs, γˆ(s), γ¯(s)].

Simulation Example

A simulation example illustrates the effectiveness of the approach on a linear system with specific parameters (A, B, D, K, τs=0.1 s, N=5). The design parameters were set as E0 = 0.5, ε = 0.2, δ = 0.1, ψ = 0.5, ρ = 150, ϕ = 0.

Improvements for AI systems

As a diligent researcher, I have analyzed the provided scientific paper, Input-to-state stabilization of linear systems under data-rate constraints, focusing on its core contribution: establishing Input-to-State Stability (ISS) for linear systems subject to communication and quantization constraints in the presence of unknown disturbances.

The improvements derived from this work are primarily in developing robust, low-bandwidth control architectures for real-world networked AI/control systems.

Here are the specific improvements and capabilities an improved AI system could possess based on this research:


)1. Robust Low-Bandwidth Control Architecture (The Core Improvement):

The system can implement a feedback loop that maintains stability even when state information is severely limited (sampled and quantized). This means the AI control logic does not require continuous, high-bandwidth data streams.

)2. Adaptive Quantization Strategy for Unknown Dynamics:

Unlike previous schemes that relied on fixed quantization ranges or external disturbance bounds, this system can dynamically adjust its sensing resolution (zooming/moving-center quantization) based on real-time estimates of the disturbance and the current state's proximity to the equilibrium.

  • Capability: The AI can intelligently decide when to zoom in (increase resolution near a suspected instability or disturbance) and when to zoom out (reduce resolution when operating stably) to maximize data rate efficiency while guaranteeing stability.

)3. Guaranteed Disturbance Rejection via State Estimation:

The system utilizes a novel disturbance-estimation framework derived directly from the quantization parameters, rather than assuming a known bound on the disturbance beforehand.

  • Capability: The AI can actively estimate unknown noise or external perturbations (like sensor drift or adversarial inputs) by analyzing the error dynamics and update formulas. This allows it to proactively adjust its control effort to counteract these disturbances before they cause system instability.

)4. Hybrid Control Mode for Uncertainty Handling (Search vs. Stabilize):

The control strategy explicitly alternates between two modes:

  • Capability: When the state measurement is lost or corrupted (searching stage), the AI can immediately switch to a safe, zero-control mode to prevent catastrophic failure while simultaneously using a recovery mechanism (based on the estimate of the disturbance) to ensure finite-time capture once information is reacquired. This makes the system resilient to temporary communication dropouts.

)5. Explicit Performance Guarantees (ISS):

The system provides mathematically rigorous, explicit bounds on how much an external disturbance can affect the state's trajectory (Input-to-State Stability).

  • Capability: For critical applications (e.g., autonomous vehicle control, industrial robotics), this means the AI can guarantee that even under worst-case unknown environmental noise or communication latency, the system will not diverge beyond a mathematically defined threshold relative to the disturbance magnitude.

)6. Implementation in Networked/Resource-Constrained Environments:

Since the scheme is based on sampled and quantized measurements, it is inherently suitable for edge computing or IoT devices with limited communication bandwidth (low data rate constraints).

  • Capability: The AI can operate reliably in environments where transmitting raw state vectors is too costly or slow, relying only on sending compact, quantized indices and symbols.

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