Neural Adaptive Control Technology (NACT)

The ESPRIT III Basic Research project Neural Adaptive Control Technology (NACT) is a joint undertaking of Daimler-Benz (Berlin, Germany), Coordinating Partner, and Glasgow University (Glasgow, Scotland, UK). It is a three-year project, which started in April 1994, and is funded by the Commission of the European Communities.

The project closed in March 1997.

People

Daimler-Benz (Daimler-Benz)

Ken Hunt (Project Leader)
Jens Kalkkuhl

Glasgow University (Centre for Systems and Control)

Peter Gawthrop
Rafal Zbikowski
Andrzej Dzielinski

Project overview

The Project aims at a synergy of adaptive control and neural networks. Similarities of both technologies on an abstract conceptual level constitute a basis for fundamental, engineering orientated research. Basic aspects of the fusion of technologies are investigated in the context of multiple computing agents and industrial automation environments.

The focus is on delivery of transparent, constructive and engineering orientated design methods resulting from the consistent and consolidated theory of Neural Adaptive Control Technology (NACT). Emphasis is put on dynamic nonlinear plants and adaptive feedback through neural networks.

Publications until end of 1995 (update in progress)

A compendium of the NACT team selected publications contains (in the ASCII form) the information presented in the list below.
  1. PostScript file nact_tp1.ps with the first NACT Technical Report. Its abstract and BiBTeX entry are also available.
  2. Book Neural Network Engineering in Dynamic Control Systems Edited by K. J. Hunt, G. W. Irwin and K. Warwick, Springer-Verlag, London, 1995, ISBN 3-540-19973-X. The book is an outgrowth of an IEE colloquium of the same title held in May 1994 at the Daimler-Benz Systems Engineering Research Centre in Berlin, Germany. Its preface & contents overview and BiBTeX entry are available.
  3. Chapter 1 of the book Neural Network Engineering in Dynamic Control Systems, Springer-Verlag, 1995. Its abstract and BiBTeX entry are available.
  4. Chapter 4 of the book Neural Network Engineering in Dynamic Control Systems, Springer-Verlag, 1995. Its abstract and BiBTeX entry are available.
  5. Paper presented at the 4th International Conference on Artificial Neural Networks (1995). Its abstract and BiBTeX entry are available.
  6. Paper presented at the Methods and Models in Automation and Robotics conference (1995). Its abstract and BiBTeX entry are available.
  7. Paper presented at the European Control Conference, ECC'95 (1995). Its abstract and BiBTeX entry are available.
  8. Paper published in the journal Control Engineering Practice, 1996. Its abstract and BiBTeX entry are available.
  9. Chapter 1 of the book Neural Adaptive Control Technology, World Scientific, Singapore, 1996. Its abstract and BiBTeX entry are available.
  10. Chapter 2 of the book Neural Adaptive Control Technology, World Scientific, Singapore, 1996. Its abstract and BiBTeX entry are available.
  11. Chapter 3 of the book Neural Adaptive Control Technology, World Scientific, Singapore, 1996. Its abstract and BiBTeX entry are available.

NACT I Workshop

The first workshop on Neural Adaptive Control Technology (NACT) took place on May 18-19, 1995 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK. More information about the Workshop is in Final Programme.

PROCEEDINGS of the Workshop have appeared in an edited book format. Selected workshop participants were asked to substantially expand and revise their contributions to make them into full chapters. In the book emphasis is put on development of sound theory of neural adaptive control for non-linear control systems, but firmly anchored in the engineering context of industrial practice. Therefore the contributors are both renowned academics and practitioners from major industrial users of neurocontrol.

The NACT book details are:

TITLE: Neural Adaptive Control Technology
EDITORS: R Zbikowski and K J Hunt
PUBLISHER: World Scientific Publishing (offices worldwide)
DATE: April, 1996
ISBN: 981-02-2557-1
Also available are the book's preface and contents list.

NACT II Workshop

The second workshop on Neural Adaptive Control Technology (NACT) took place on September 9-10, 1996 in Berlin, Germany.

The aim of the workshop was to bring together selected invited specialists in the fields of adaptive control, non-linear systems and neural networks. The first workshop (NACT I) took place in Glasgow in May 1995 and was mainly dedicated to theoretical issues of neural adaptive control. Besides monitoring further development of theory the NACT II workshop was focused on industrial applications and software tools.

Selected contributions to the workshop will be published in a book form in 1997:

TITLE: Applications of Neural Adaptive Control Technology
EDITORS: J Kalkkuhl, K J Hunt, R Zbikowski and A Dzielinski
PUBLISHER: World Scientific Publishing (offices worldwide)
DATE: August 1997
ISBN: 981-02-3151-2
For more information contact Dr Jens Kalkkuhl (Daimler-Benz) at
kalkkuhl@DBresearch-berlin.de

Neural links

Official ESPRIT III synopsis of NACT

DTI NeuroComputing Web

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory list of neural Web pages

Royal Institute of Technology list of neural Web pages

Universite Catholique de Louvain list of neural Web pages

Last modified 24th June 1997 by
Rafal Zbikowski
Glasgow University
rafal@mech.gla.ac.uk