STABILIZATION OF FEEDFORWARD SYSTEMS APPROXIMATED BY A NONLINEAR CHAIN OF INTEGRATORS

We prove that, for any odd integer p and any strictly positive integer n, feedforward systems which are approximated at the origin by a chai n of integrators of degree p and length n can be globally asymptotical ly stabilized by bounded smooth time-invariant state feedbacks. Our pr oof is based on the construction of a Lyapunov function and the feedba ck laws we obtain are given by explicit formulas. (C) 1997 Elsevier Sc ience B.V.