Biological pest control using a model-based robust feedback

Biological control is the artificial manipulation of natural enemies of a pest for its regulation to densities below a threshold for economic damage. The authors address the biological control of a class of pest population models using a model-based robust feedback approach. The proposed control framework is based on a recursive cascade control scheme exploiting the chained form of pest population models and the use of virtual inputs. The robust feedback is formulated considering the non-linear model uncertainties via a simple and intuitive control design. Numerical results on three pest biological control problems show that the proposed model-based robust feedback can regulate the pest population at the desired reference via the manipulation of a biological control action despite model uncertainties.