Behavioral Systems Theory Meets Machine Learning: Control-Aware Learning of the Intrinsic Behavior from Big Data

TL;DR

This paper introduces a behavioral systems framework that enables control-aware machine learning of system behavior from big data, bridging the gap between classical control theory and data-driven learning.

Contribution

It proposes a novel approach using behavioral systems theory to learn intrinsic system behavior for control, compatible with neural network architectures.

Findings

Behavioral framework encodes system behavior in a bijective, causality-free manner.

Control design can be performed entirely within the state space.

Neural network architecture effectively learns behavior representations for control.

Abstract

The abundance of process operating data in modern industries, along with the rapid advancement of learning techniques, has led to a paradigm shift towards data-centric analysis and control. However, integrating machine learning with control theory for big data-driven control of nonlinear systems remains a challenging open problem. This is because the state-based, model-centric, and causal framework of classical control theory fundamentally contradicts the trajectory-based, set-theoretic, and causality-absent rationale of big data-based learning approaches. Using the behavioral framework, we show that dynamical systems possess an intrinsic state variable that encodes the system behavior in a bijective and causality-free manner, and control design can be carried out entirely within the state space. This approach not only resolves the aforementioned conflict but also complements machine learning techniques well, leading to a neural network architecture that is capable of learning the behavior representation well-suited for control design.