Automatic identification of the relative degree of nonlinear systems: Application to sliding mode control design and experimental assessment

This paper deals with the design and the experimental-based assessment of a scheme to identify the relative degree of a system in order to correctly design the controller. The system is assumed to have an unknown dynamics, and the output is measured in a discrete-time fashion. Provided that a prescribed input signal is applied, it is proven that a set of inequalities holds only for the rth time derivative of the output, where r is the relative...