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Enhanced safe control for arbitrary relative degree: A generalized discrete-time CBF approach

delete2026-05-06
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PRE
AI
Q
Qichao Ma
J
Jiacheng Li *
Q
Qingchen Liu
J
Jiahu Qin
J
Jian Sun
DOI:10.1016/j.automatica.2026.113026delete
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Abstract

Abstract

En 中文
Control Barrier Functions (CBFs) are widely used for ensuring safety in control systems and can be implemented on real-world systems via Approximate Sampled-Data Systems (ASDSs). However, the relative degree may be altered during the time-discretization process when generating corresponding ASDSs. Additionally, since the relative degree is a local property, it may vary across the state space. These two facts introduce significant challenges in designing safe controllers. In this paper, we propose a novel approach termed the Generalized Discrete-Time Control Barrier Function (GD-CBF), which provides safety guarantees for ASDSs under certain conditions, regardless of whether the relative degree is constant or variable. A key feature of the GD-CBF framework is the introduction of a safety predictive horizon, which enables improved safety performance and endows the method with predictive capabilities. In addition, it is proved that the safety of the original continuous-time system can be guaranteed in the sense that its state remains within a bounded deviation from the safe set, provided the sampling period is less than a threshold. We also explicitly characterize the dependence of this bound on the sampling period and the properties of the continuous-time system.
Keywords:
Generalized Discrete-Time Control Barrier Function
Safety Guarantees
Approximate Sampled-Data Systems
Relative Degree
Predictive Horizon

Journal

Automatica cover
Automatica
IF:
5.9
Papers:
1.1W
Citations:
5.2W

Organization

B
beijing institute of technology
Scholars:
5.3W
Papers: 3.9W
Citations: 63
U
University of Science and Technology of China
Scholars:
1.5W
Papers: 5.3K
Citations: 11.3W
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