  We present a framework for systematically combining data of an unknown linear
time-invariant system with prior knowledge on the system matrices or on the
uncertainty for robust controller design. Our approach leads to linear matrix
inequality (LMI) based feasibility criteria which guarantee stability and
performance robustly for all closed-loop systems consistent with the prior
knowledge and the available data. The design procedures rely on a combination
of multipliers inferred via prior knowledge and learnt from measured data,
where for the latter a novel and unifying disturbance description is employed.
While large parts of the paper focus on linear systems and input-state
measurements, we also provide extensions to robust output-feedback design based
on noisy input-output data and against nonlinear uncertainties. We illustrate
through numerical examples that our approach provides a flexible framework for
simultaneously leveraging prior knowledge and data, thereby reducing
conservatism and improving performance significantly if compared to black-box
approaches to data-driven control.
