To Trigger or Not to Trigger: Exploring the Theory of Event-Based Control (Prof. Frank Allgöwer, University of Stuttgart)

Systems & Control Seminar

• Mittwoch, 11.06.2025, 16:00 Uhr
• Raum A247, Gebäude 3403, Appelstr. 11

Abstract

Why should a controller act only when the clock says so, rather than when it actually matters? Event-triggered control and its cousin self-triggered control challenge the traditional approach of periodic control by closing feedback loops only when needed. These smart, resource-aware approaches have attracted great interest in areas like networked systems or real-time computing - promising efficiency without compromising control objectives.
But with great flexibility comes great theoretical challenges. Which design frameworks can we use to find performant triggering conditions? How do we rigorously analyze sampling behavior? What trade-offs emerge between control performance and trigger frequency?
In this talk, we will take a tour through research trends in event-based control, highlighting both breakthroughs and unresolved challenges in the field. We will give a perspective on its connections to areas like neuromorphic control and event-based vision, examining its origins and future prospects.

Biographical information

Frank Allgöwer is director of the Institute for Systems Theory and Automatic Control at the University of Stuttgart in Germany and professor in the mechanical engineering department there. His current research interests are to develop new methods for data-based control, optimization-based control and networked control. Frank has published over 500 papers and received several recognitions for his work including the IFAC Outstanding Service Award, the IEEE CSS Distinguished Member Award, the State Teaching Award of the German state of Baden-Württemberg, and the Leibniz Prize of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.
Frank has been the President of the International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC) for the years 2017-2020. He was Editor for the journal Automatica from 2001 to 2015 and is editor for the Springer Lecture Notes in Control and Information Science book series. He was Vice-president for Technical Activities of the IEEE Control Systems Society for the years 2013/14 and was on the EUCA Council for 2001-2004. From 2012 until 2020, Frank also served as Vice-President of Germany's most important research funding agency, the German Research Foundation (DFG).