On potential function design for path following control of port-Hamiltonian systems

This paper describes a procedure to design potential functions for path following control of port-Hamiltonian systems. The conventional path following control method needs to find a time invariant potential function which takes its minimum on the desired path. It is so difficult to find a potential function for a complex path. Inspired by the results of existing trajectory tracking control of port-Hamiltonian systems, we propose an improved path following control method. By solving partial differential equations, a potential function for path following control is acquired.