  This paper proposes a new framework for the optimization of excitation inputs
for system identification. The optimization problem considered is to maximize a
reduced Fisher information matrix in any of the classical D-, E-, or A-optimal
senses. In contrast to the majority of published work on this topic, we
consider the problem in the time domain and subject to constraints on the
amplitude of the input signal. This optimization problem is nonconvex. The main
result of the paper is a convex relaxation that gives an upper bound accurate
to within $2/\pi$ of the true maximum. A randomized algorithm is presented for
finding a feasible solution which, in a certain sense is expected to be at
least $2/\pi$ as informative as the globally optimal input signal. In the case
of a single constraint on input power, the proposed approach recovers the true
global optimum exactly. Extensions to situations with both power and amplitude
constraints on both inputs and outputs are given. A simple simulation example
illustrates the technique.
