EE 448

Control Systems, Sensors and

Actuators
Instructor : Hunh Vit Thng thang143@gmail.com
TA
: Li T. Kim Phng
LA
: V Vn Thanh

Overview
4 credits
Goals:
to provide an overview of control systems, sensors and actuators
to provide fundamental of modern control techniques
to learn how to use MATLAB & Simulink for the modeling, analysis and
design of control systems
to experiment with real hardware DC motor control system

Textbook: Norman S. NISE, Control Systems Engineering, 4th

edition, 2004
Slides and e-books will be available on site:
https://sites.google.com/site/hvthangete/teaching/ee448
Student should install MATLAB on your own PC/Laptop
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Grading policy & Lab

Grading policy

Homework/Assignment
Midterm exam
Final exam
Laboratory

:
:
:
:

20 %
20 %
30 %
30 %

Midterm and Final are closed book, but allow 1 A4 page of

notes (hand-written)
Lab
use MATLAB & Simulink (on PC/Laptop)
DC motor controlled by MCU (on hardware)

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Topics to be discussed

Course overview
Introduction to control systems
Control system modelling in the frequency domain
Sensors
Actuators
Midterm exam
PID control
Adaptive control (LMS)
Final exam

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About your instructor

Hunh Vit Thng
also found on Google as Thang Viet Huynh

Education
06/2003: Diploma, DUT (Class of 1998-2003)
12/2007: M. Eng, UD-DUT, ThesisImplementation of a Network-onChip on FPGA
07/2012: Dr.Techn., TU Graz, Austria, Thesis Efficient floating-point
Implementation of Signal Processing Algorithms on Reconfigurable
Hardware

Research Interests

Reconfigurable Computing (aka computing with FPGA)

Embedded Systems
HW implementations of advanced DSP algorithms
Machine Learning & Robotics
Computer Arithmetic, Interval Arithmetic, Affine Arithmetic
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Lecture 1. Introduction

Examples of control systems

Control systems are an integral part of modern society,
numerous applications are
Gearing system in cars
Motor control system
Human body

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Control system definition

A control system consists of subsystems and processes (or
plants) assembled for the purpose of obtaining a desired
output with desired performance, given a specified input.
For example, consider an elevator:
When the fourth-floor button is pressed on the first floor, the elevator
rises to the fourth floor with a speed and floor-leveling accuracy
designed for passenger comfort.
The push of the fourth-floor button is an input that represents our
desired output, shown as a step function. The performance of the
elevator can be seen from the elevator response curve in the figure.

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Elevator example
Two major measures of performance are apparent:
(1) the transient response
(2) the steady-state error.

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Elevator example (cont.)

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Advantages of control systems

What can we do with control systems?
why do we use/design control systems?

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Why we build control systems?

4 main reasons:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Power amplification
Remote control (+ Automation)
Convenience of input form
Compensation for disturbances

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A history of control systems

Liquid level control

Steam pressure and temperature controls
Speed control
Stability, Stabilization and Steering

20th century Development

Bode & Nyquist: analysis of feedback amplifiers
Walter R. Evans: root locus technique
>> foundation of linear control systems analysis and design theory

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Contemporary applications
Today, control systems find widespread application in the
guidance, navigation, and control of missiles and spacecraft,
as well as planes and ships at sea.
We find control systems throughout the process control
industry, regulating liquid levels in tanks, chemical
concentrations in vats, as well as the thickness of fabricated
material.
Modern developments have seen widespread use of the
digital computer as part of control systems.

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Contemporary applications
Control systems are not limited to science and industry.
Home entertainment systems

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Open-Loop Systems
Open-loop systems do not correct for disturbances and are
simply commanded by the input.

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Feedback Control Systems

The closed-loop system compensates for disturbances by
measuring the output response, feeding that measurement back
through a feedback path, and comparing that response to the input at
the summing junction.
If there is any difference between the two responses, the system
drives the plant, via the actuating signal, to make a correction.
If there is no difference, the system does not drive the plant, since the
plant's response is already the desired response.

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Open-loop vs. Closed-loop

Advantages
Disadvantages

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Analysis and Design Objectives

Analysis is the process by which a system's performance is
determined.
Design is the process by which a system's performance is
created or changed.
A control system is dynamic: It responds to an input by
undergoing a transient response before reaching a steadystate response that generally resembles the input.
3 main objectives (keep in mind)
Transient response (transient time)
Steady-State response (steady-state error)
Stability

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Transient Response

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Steady-State Response

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Stability

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Stability (cont.)
Instability

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Stability (cont.)
Control systems must be designed to be stable!

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Other considerations
Finance
Robustness

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The design process

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Case study

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Summary
Homework:

write a summary of chapter 1 for your own study.

handwritten, individual assignment
max. length of one A4 (2 pages)
submit next week (Monday)

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Review questions
1. Name three applications for feedback control systems.
2. Name three reasons for using feedback control systems and
at least one reason for not using them.
3. Name the three major design criteria for control systems.
4. Give three examples of open-loop systems.
5. Functionally, how do closed-loop systems differ from openloop systems?

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Problem (1)

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Problem (2)

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