Stabilizing Error Correction Codes for Control over Erasure Channels

TL;DR

This paper introduces $(k,k')$ stabilizing codes designed for control over erasure channels, ensuring system stability with minimal received outputs, and demonstrates their effectiveness through theoretical analysis and simulations.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel class of delayless stabilizing codes tailored for control over erasure channels, incorporating system and channel characteristics into code design.

Findings

Codes guarantee stability if at least $k'$ outputs are received.

Performance surpasses traditional delayless codes like repetition codes.

Simulation results confirm practical effectiveness and theoretical advantages.

Abstract

We propose $(k,k')$ stabilizing codes, which is a type of delayless error correction codes that are useful for control over networks with erasures. For each input symbol, $k$ output symbols are generated by the stabilizing code. Receiving at least $k'$ of these outputs guarantees stability. Thus, both the system to be stabilized and the channel is taken into account in the design of the erasure codes. Receiving more than $k'$ outputs further improves the performance of the system. In the case of i.i.d. erasures, we further demonstrate that the erasure code can be constructed such that stability is achieved if on average at least $k'$ output symbols are received. Our focus is on LTI systems, and we construct codes based on independent encodings and multiple descriptions. Stability is assessed via Markov jump linear system theory. The theoretical efficiency and performance of the codes are assessed, and their practical performances are demonstrated in a simulation study. There is a significant gain over other delayless codes such as repetition codes.