15.4 Nonholonomic System Theory

This section gives some precision to the term nonholonomic, which was used loosely in Chapters 13 and 14. Furthermore, small-time controllability (STLC), which was defined in Section 15.1.3, is addressed. The presentation given here barely scratches the surface of this subject, which involves deep mathematical principles from differential geometry, algebra, control theory, and mechanics. The intention is to entice the reader to pursue further study of these topics; see the suggested literature at the end of the chapter.