About the Lyapunov exponent of sampled-data systems with non-uniform sampling

In this paper we propose a method for evaluating the Lyapunov exponent of sampled-data systems with sampling jitter. We consider the case of systems in which the sampling interval is unknown, time-varying and bounded in a given interval. In order to take into account the inter-sampling behaviour of the system, the problem is addressed from the continuous time point of view. The approach exploits the fact that the command is a piecewise constant signal and leads to less conservative stability conditions. Using geometrical arguments, a lower bound of the Lyapunov exponent can be expressed as a generalized eigenvalue problem. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the approach.