Definition (Controllable subspace)
Consider a LTVC system {x˙(t)=A(t)x(t)+B(t)u(t)x(t0)=x0with controllability gramian W. The subspace Image(W(t0,t1)) is called the controllable subspace for the pair (t0,t1).
Definition (Controllable)
A LTVC system {x˙(t)=A(t)x(t)+B(t)u(t)x(t0)=x0∈Rnis said to be controllable for the pair (t0,t1) if the controllable subspace is the entire state space. i.e. Image(W(t0,t1))=Rn
Definition (Controllable (332))
Consider dtdx=Ax(t)+Bu(t)The pair (A,B) is said to be controllable if for any x(0)=x0∈Rn and xf∈Rn, there exists T<∞ and a control input {us,0≤s≤T} so that xT=xf.
So in other words, our system is controllable if it can be manipulated to be in any state in euclidean space.