Search for: [Abstract = "A procedure for approximating fractional\-order systems by means of integer\-order state\-space models is presented. It is based on the rational approximation of fractional\-order operators suggested by Oustaloup. First, a matrix differential equation is obtained from the original fractional\-order representation. Then, this equation is realized in a state\-space form that has a sparse block\-companion structure. The dimension of the resulting integer\-order model can be reduced using an efficient algorithm for rational L2 approximation. Two numerical examples are worked out to show the performance of the suggested technique."]