  We investigate performance bounds for feedback control of distributed plants
where the controller can be centralized (i.e. it has access to measurements
from the whole plant), but sensors only measure differences between neighboring
subsystem outputs. Such "distributed sensing" can be a technological necessity
in applications where system size exceeds accuracy requirements by many orders
of magnitude. We formulate how distributed sensing generally limits feedback
performance robust to measurement noise and to model uncertainty, without
assuming any controller restrictions (among others, no "distributed control"
restriction). A major practical consequence is the necessity to cut down
integral action on some modes. We particularize the results to spatially
invariant systems and finally illustrate implications of our developments for
stabilizing the segmented primary mirror of the European Extremely Large
Telescope.
