Enforcing Additional Control Design Constraints Using Assurance Mechanisms

Discover how to enhance the reliability and robustness of control systems by integrating assurance mechanisms into the design. In many applications, designing a performant controller is only the first step—systems must also operate effectively under uncertainties, constraints, and challenging edge-case conditions. For example, a robotic arm approaching a joint limit or an autonomous vehicle nearing a critical distance requires the controller to respect strict constraints without compromising performance or stability.

This video explores how assurance mechanisms act as supervisory layers that continuously monitor control commands and enforce critical constraints in real time. Techniques such as control barrier functions and passivity enforcement can be implemented directly in Simulink to augment controller performance and prevent unstable or undesirable behaviors.

Learn how these methods ensure constraint satisfaction, maintain system stability, and improve overall reliability. These approaches are also deployable, supporting code generation for embedded hardware, which enables real-time enforcement in physical systems and field deployments.

Related Resources:
Learn more about Constraint Enforcement: https://bit.ly/495wNhq
Constraint Enforcement for Improved Safety:    • Constraint Enforcement for Improved Safety...  

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
1:20 How do assurance mechanisms work?
2:00 How to choose between assurance mechanism offerings from MathWorks?
3:25 Demo: adaptive cruise control application
6:36 Barrier certificate enforcement for adaptive cruise control
8:21 Barrier certificate design workflow and results
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