An optimization study on a hybrid computer

In this paper, the maximum principle is applied to minimum-time optimal-control problems, and an optimization algorithm is presented which can be implemented on a hybrid computer. The state and adjoint equations are set up on ASTRAC II, a high-speed analog computer capable of 1000 differential equation solutions per second. The optimization algorithm is implemented on a PDP-9, an 18-bit, digital computer. The optimization scheme has global and local search phases and uses a vector optimization criterion. Second and third-order bang-bang control systems are studied as examples.