On Timescale Separation in Networked Systems With Intermittent Communication

Abstract

This paper studies the multiple timescale behavior that is induced by dynamic coupling between continuous-time and discrete-time systems, and that arises naturally in distributed networked systems. An order reduction method is proposed that establishes a mathematically rigorous separation principle between the fast evolution of the continuous-time dynamics and the slow updates of the discrete-time dynamics. Quantitative conditions on the discrete update rate are then derived that ensure the stability of the coupled dynamics based on the behavior of the isolated systems. The results are illustrated for a distributed network of satellites whose attitudes evolve continuously while communicating intermittently over the network.