The objective of this project is to construct a comprehensive computer-aided design methodology for multi-rate digital control systems that differs from existing schemes in one or more of five points: 1) Effectiveness - It will be guaranteed to find a controller that meets the desired specifications if one exists. 2) Naturalness - The use of an intelligent control specification language compiler will allow designers to refer directly to transfer functions, signal peaks, noises powers, step responses, etc. 3) Flexibility - The designer will be allowed to express constraints or optimize on signal peaks, noise powers, frequency domain behavior of transfer functions, time domain behavior of pulse responses, settling times, overshoots, and more. 4) Generality - It will handle asynchronous systems, rigorously. 5) Tractability - Design of large systems will be possible with available computing power. Designed controllers will be of reasonable order for implementation. This will be accomplished by extending ordinary, single-rate "Q-Design" to multi-rate control systems, developing and coding analytical, rigorous methods for approximating asynchronous systems with synchronous ones and methods for model reduction of multi-rate controllers. The widespread industrial and military use of multi-rate digital control systems and the shortcomings of current design methodologies means this research should have significant impact in the practicing control community.
