  This paper gives an overview of the control of distributed-parameter systems
using normal forms. Considering linear controllable PDE-ODE systems of
hyperbolic type, two methods derive tracking controllers by mapping the system
into a form that is advantageous for the control design, analogous to the
finite-dimensional case. A flatness-based controller makes use of the
hyperbolic controller canonical form that follows from a parametrization of the
system's solutions. A backstepping design exploits the strict-feedback form of
the system to recursively stabilize and transform the subsystems.
