Abstract:Output feedback design for non linear systems is a difficult topic which has attracted the attention of researchers with very different approaches. We propose here a unifying point of view on possibly all these contributions. We start with a necessary condition on the structure of the Lyapunov functions for the closed loop system. This motivates the distinction of four classes of designs which can be placed in a two by two matrix (see Table 1), with -the direct approach, also called control error model analysis, and -the indirect approach, also called dynamic error model analysis, as entries in one direction, and domination and cancellation as entries in the other. We show how most available results on this topic can be reinterpreted along these lines.