  In this paper we consider a linear system structured into physically coupled
subsystems and propose a decentralized control scheme capable to guarantee
asymptotic stability and satisfaction of constraints on system inputs and
states. The design procedure is totally decentralized, since the synthesis of a
local controller uses only information on a subsystem and its neighbors, i.e.
subsystems coupled to it. We first derive tests for checking if a subsystem can
be plugged into (or unplugged from) an existing plant without spoiling overall
stability and constraint satisfaction. When this is possible, we show how to
automatize the design of local controllers so that it can be carried out in
parallel by smart actuators equipped with computational resources and capable
to exchange information with neighboring subsystems. In particular, local
controllers exploit tube-based Model Predictive Control (MPC) in order to
guarantee robustness with respect to physical coupling among subsystems.
Finally, an application of the proposed control design procedure to frequency
control in power networks is presented.
