Optimizing LQR controllers: A comparative study

Linear Quadratic Regulator is one of the most common ways to control a linear system. Despite Linear Quadratic Regulator’s (LQR) strong performance and solid resilience, developing these controllers have been challenging, largely because there is no reliable way to choose the $Q$ and $R$ weighing matrices. In this regard a deterministic method is used for choosing them in this paper, providing the designers a precise control over performance variables. An Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) optimisation is also used to find the sub-optimal gain matrices along with an analytical approach based on neural networks. A comparative study of the three approaches is performed using MATLAB simulations. These three approaches are applied on an inverted pendulum–cart system due to its complexity and dexterity. The results show that all the three methods show comparable performances with the proposed analytical method being slightly better in terms of transient characteristics.