Application of an Immune Feedback Mechanism to Control Systems

Abstract

As a control engineering application of a biological immune system, an immune feedback law featuring rapid response to foreign materials and quick stabilization of the immune system and a design method for an immune-mechanism-inspired feedback controller is described.Focusing on the T-cell regulated immune circuit, we propose an immune feedback law that includes both an active term to control the response speed and an inhibitive term to control the stabilization effect.We have also designed a PID-type immune-mechanism-inspired feedback controller based on both the immune feedback law and conventional PID control.Simulation results obtained for a discrete-time single-input single-output system show the feasibility of using the immune-mechanism-inspired feedback controller to control a nonlinear system and reveal the controller characteristics.Experimental results for velocity tracking control of a DC servo motor demonstrate the effectiveness of the immune-mechanism-inspired feedback controller for controlling a practical mechanical system even with existing nonlinear disturbances.