Robust targeted exploration for systems with non-stochastic disturbances

Journal article

We propose a novel targeted exploration strategy designed specifically for uncertain linear time-invariant systems with energybounded disturbances, i.e., without any assumptions on the distribution of the disturbances. We use classical results characterizing the set of non-falsified parameters consistent with energy-bounded disturbances. We derive a semidefinite program which computes an exploration strategy that guarantees a desired accuracy of the parameter estimate. This design is based on sufficient conditions on the spectral content of the exploration data that robustly account for initial parametric uncertainty. Finally, we highlight the applicability of the exploration strategy through a numerical example involving a nonlinear system.

Authors: Venkatasubramanian, J; Koehler, J; Cannon, M; Allgoewer, F

• Publication status: Accepted
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Journal: Automatica
• Acceptance date: 2026-06-12
• EISSN: 1873-2836
• ISSN: 0005-1098
• Language: English
• Keywords: experiment design; robust estimation; optimization under uncertainties; uncertainty quantification; data-driven control