Robust Implementation of Controllers Containing Distributed-Delay Elements: A Case-Study

This paper studies the implementation of controllers containing distributed-delay internal feedback elements (e.g., dead-time compensators) using a laboratory DC motor. It is demonstrated that the verbatim use of approximation methods available in the literature may not be feasible for the implementation even on relatively powerful real-time control hardware. We argue that the main reason is the lack of robustness of the internal feedback loop of the controller. Some remedies, allowing to make this loop more robust, are proposed and experimentally validated.