Robust Stability Analysis and Systematic Design of Single-Input Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Logic Controllers

Abstract

Recent results on fuzzy control have shown that interval type-2 (IT2) fuzzy logic controllers (FLCs) might achieve better control performance due to the additional degree of freedom provided by the footprint of uncertainty (FOU) in their IT2 fuzzy sets. However, the design and robust stability analysis of the IT2-FLCs are still challenging problems due to their relatively more complex internal structure. In this paper, we will derive the explicitly fuzzy mapping (FM) of a single-input IT2-FLC (SIT2-FLC) to present design methods and investigate its robustness. The analytical information of the IT2-FM will give the opportunity to provide explanations on the roles of the FOU parameters by taking advantage of the well-developed framework of nonlinear control theory. Comparative theoretical explorations will be presented on the differences between the type-1 (T1) FM and IT2-FM to clearly show the role of the FOU on the robust control system performance. It will be proven that the robust stability of the IT2 fuzzy system is guaranteed with the aids of the well-known Popov–Lyapunov method. Moreover, analytical design methods are presented for SIT2-FLCs to generate commonly employed control curves by only tuning the size of the FOUs without a need of an optimization procedure. It will be theoretically shown that the FOU gives the opportunity to the SIT2-FLC to generate commonly employed nonlinear control curves while also providing a certain degree of robustness which cannot be accomplished by its T1 counterpart. The presented results provide theoretical explanations on the role of the FOU on the performance and robustness of the SIT2-FLC.