A functional equations approach to nonlinear discrete-time feedback stabilization through pole-placement

Abstract The present work proposes a new approach to the nonlinear discrete-time feedback stabilization problem with pole-placement. The problem's formulation is realized through a system of nonlinear functional equations and a rather general set of necessary and sufficient conditions for solvability is derived. Using tools from functional equations theory, one can prove that the solution to the above system of nonlinear functional equations is locally analytic, and an easily programmable series solution method can be developed. Under a simultaneous implementation of a nonlinear coordinate transformation and a nonlinear discrete-time state feedback control law that are both computed through the solution of the system of nonlinear functional equations, the feedback stabilization with pole-placement design objective can be attained under rather general conditions. The key idea of the proposed single-step design approach is to bypass the intermediate step of transforming the original system into a linear controllable one with an external reference input associated with the classical exact feedback linearization approach. However, since the proposed method does not involve an external reference input, it cannot meet other control objectives such as trajectory tracking and model matching.