Prof. Saso Blazic

Abstract:

Lyapunov functions are a fundamental tool for analyzing and designing controllers for complex nonlinear dynamical systems. This plenary lecture provides an intuitive introduction to Lyapunov’s ideas and explains their central role in ensuring stability, safety, and robustness in modern control applications, highlighting why classical linear and frequency-domain methods are often insufficient for complex nonlinear dynamics. Both direct and indirect Lyapunov methods are presented, with emphasis on their use in control design to guarantee stability without explicit solutions of system equations. Through practical examples from robotics and nonlinear control, the lecture illustrates how Lyapunov-based reasoning enables systematic controller design for safety-critical and highly uncertain systems.