Continuous and discrete state reconstruction for nonlinear switched systems via high-order sliding-mode observers

A class of nonlinear switched systems is studied, and a finite-time converging state observer is proposed. The observer strategy, based on the high-order sliding-mode approach, is able to reconstruct both the continuous and discrete states of the switched system based on output measurements and on the knowledge of the set of possible system’s dynamics. All the ‘operating modes’ of the switched system are required to satisfy certain observability-like and boundedness restrictions. The observer provides a finite-time converging estimate and, after a switching of the active mode, it features an arbitrarily fast transient to recover the correct (continuous and discrete) state estimate. A numerical example illustrates the performance of the proposed observer.