1. Main criteria. Fields of application

The interest in optimal control stems from the very nature of its definition: optimizing a criterion of our choice, while satisfying given operating conditions and imposed constraints.

The main criteria used are minimum time, quadratic and consumption criteria.

• The main uses of the minimum time criterion are safety issues and the minimization of time-related costs; the main applications can be found in the fields of continuous production, space, defense and medicine.

• Quadratic criteria are used in problems involving energy minimization, stabilization and trajectory tracking. They are mainly applied to control and servo problems in general, as well as to high-energy processes. The benefits are seen in terms of quality, safety and implementation costs....