Abstract
The paper is devoted to the problem of observability and controllability analysis in nonlinear dynamic systems. Both continuous- and discrete-time systems described by nonlinear differential or difference equations, respectively, are considered. A new approach is developed to solve this problem whose features include (i) consideration of systems with non-differentiable nonlinearities and (ii) the use of relatively simple linear methods which may be supported by existing programming systems, e.g.,Matlab. Sufficient conditions are given for nonlinear unobservability/uncontrollability analysis. To apply these conditions, one isolates the linear part of the system which is checked to be unobservable/uncontrollable and, if the answer is positive, it is examined whether or not existing nonlinear terms violate the unobservability/uncontrollability property.