Control-Lab-in-a-Box: Bridging the Gap between Control Theory and Engineering Practice

In response to the article Undergraduate control education: an ME perspective, by Agrawal, this article presents the author's view on several key issues in control engineering education, some are pertinent to electrical engineering (EE), some are more general. These issues include: 1) in comparison to mechanical engineering (ME) and other engineering disciplines, what does EE have to offer in control engineering education? and 2) does an undergraduate control curriculum have to start from LTI system theory? The author proposes some radical thoughts about fundamental changes in the infrastructure and pedagogical structure for control engineering education with ramifications to control engineering practices. These suggestions include: 1) seriously considering the advantages and drawbacks of centralized and independent control and systems engineering program, and 2) changing the entry point to control engineering curriculum from LTI to nonlinear system theory.

The paper presents educational issues related to the development and implementation of low-cost control solutions and algorithms used in the syllabus of control engineering courses applied to the Magnetic Levitation System with 2 Electromagnets laboratory equipment. Real-time experiments are included to accompany the laboratory-based education in control engineering.

Computer Simulation and Animation Environment for Control Education

Education in Control Engineering for the Designers of Environmental Processes

In control engineering both practical and theoretical components of the education are very important for courses as well as laboratory work. The aspects of design and implementation of control need to be integrated in the whole process of learning and training. The paper is presenting a proposal of an architecture of a platform dedicated for research, training and education in control engineering. The proposed architecture is based on components with important “ready to evolve” features. The open platform for study has as input an image process data with an online updating snapshots of data. The structure is based on a connection to the real process to be study and periodically this connection is providing to the platform a new set of data improving an updating image of the process current used by the platform. This transfer of data is obtained from the process via Internet by the simulation and modeling PC of the proposed platform. A fuzzy black-box modeling technique is used in this purpose. In order to complete the functionality of our propose platform, inside the architecture will be included a PLC for implementing and experimenting different types of control strategies from very simple ones to the most advanced algorithms. Also, the proposed platform includes a SCADA station for providing the most complete education and training experience. The advantage of proposed architecture is to use the real data input from a complex industrial process, to build a model improved in time, but to isolate and protect the process from research, training and education area contained in the built platform.

This paper presents one education system for control engineering, which consists of a two-floor building structural model with a moving controllable cart device lying on the top floor, namely a miniature AMD control system. The structure is controlled by the AMD, when it vibrates subjected to external disturbance. Both the calculation model and physical implementation are given according to observer based full-state feedback control design specifications, which includes designing and tuning of a proportional-velocity (PV) position controller, mathematically modeling the system's state-space representation through Lagrange's method, designing and tuning of a full-order state-observer based on the structural acceleration feedback, at last designing a real-time mode-switching experiment using a predefined logic sequence to alternate between a mode of repeatable structural excitation and an active mass damping control mode to depress the structure's vibration to show the effectiveness of using AMD control system in suppressing structural vibration. The results show the procedures using AMD device system in control engineering education.

MODULAR CONTROL LABORATORY ARCHITECTURE

The 2021 4th International Conference on Advanced Algorithms and Control Engineering (ICAACE 2021) was successfully held online through Zoom on Jan. 29-31, 2021. Due to COVID-19 and the pandemic-related nationwide lockdowns and other coordinated restrictive measures, the organizers decided to hold a conference in a virtual format with the organization of access for all participants to the presented reports with comprehensive discussion for ensuring the event at a high scientific level.ICAACE 2021 is to bring together innovative academics and industrial experts in the field of advanced algorithms and control engineering to a common forum. The primary goal of the conference is to promote research and developmental activities in advanced algorithms and control engineering. And another goal is to promote scientific information interchange between researchers, developers, engineers, students, and practitioners working all around the world. The conference will be held every year to make it an ideal platform for people to share views and experiences in advanced algorithms and control engineering and related areas.The safety and well-being of all conference participants is our priority. The COVID-19 is unpredictable, so conference postponement met uncertainty, while many scholars and researchers want to attend this long-waited conference and have academic exchanges with their peers. But I want to note that there are no barriers to science, and we continue to work on our research areas remotely, using modern technical means. Under this situation, the conference model was divided into three sessions, including oral presentations, keynote speeches, and online Q&A discussion. In the first part, some scholars, whose submissions were selected as the excellent papers, were given about 5-10 minutes to perform their oral presentations one by one. Then in the second part, keynote speakers were each allocated 30-45 minutes to hold their speeches.More than 110 participants attended the meeting. We were greatly honored to have invited Prof. Ghassan Beydoun, from University of Technology Sydney and A. Prof. Antti Rasila, from Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Guangdong Technion to serve as our General Conference Chair. There were over 20 experts and scholars in the area of Advanced Algorithms and Control Engineering representing different famous universities and institutes around the globe to form Conference Committees.List of Committee members are available in the pdf.

The tower crane (TCR) laboratory model by INTECO is a suitable aid for research and education in control engineering and mechatronics. Its modelling and control encompasses three basic subsystems: 1. motion of the trolley in the radial direction along the arm 2. angular displacement of the arm in the rotary direction, and 3. damping of payload oscillations. The paper focuses on dynamic model identification and controller design of the trolley position along the arm as well as damping of payload oscillation in x-direction.

This paper describes an integrated learning platform intended to support Internet-based control-engineering education. Four environments have been developed, namely, remote experimentation, mathematical analysis, dynamic simulation, and self-learning. The learning platform is a virtual support for problem-based education in control engineering. The reported development allows multiple users the access to concepts and both experimental and computational resources through an intuitive and powerful user interface that only requires a Web browser, a low-bandwidth Internet connection, and low user-side technical specifications. The server side is scalable and reproducible since it is based on general public license (GPL) Linux operating system and a Matlab license. The integration of the proposed theoretical, computational, and experimental tools improves previous experiences in Internet-based control education.

The paper demonstrates how a four‐tank laboratory process equipped with a modern distributed control system (DCS) is used in different control engineering laboratories for the undergraduate and graduate levels. This includes the utilization of commercial tools for DCS engineering as well as the design and commissioning of traditional and advanced control solutions. Using the same pilot plant and control system in different modules lowers the costs, allows the reutilization of results and enables an efficient laboratory organization. It also supports the process of learning the inner context of different process control related subjects. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 21: 313–321, 2013

This paper presents Automatic Control Engineering Laboratory (ACEL) - WebLab, an under-developed, internet-based remote laboratory for control engineering education at the Faculty of Electronic Engineering in Niš. Up to now, the remote laboratory integrates two physical systems (velocity servo system and magnetic levitation system) and enables some levels of measurement and control. To perform experiments in ACEL-WebLab, the "LabVIEW Run Time Engine"and a standard web browser are needed.

ABSTRACTThis study investigates the use of Large Language Models (LLMs) by undergraduates majoring in Instrumentation and Control Engineering (ICE) at University of Shanghai for Science and Technology. We conducted a questionnaire survey to assess the awareness and usage habits of these LLMs among ICE undergraduates in ICE courses, focusing on the model types, frequency, self‐study tasks and post‐usage feedback. The survey results indicate that ChatGPT is the most frequently used model among ICE undergraduates. Furthermore, we evaluated the performance of GPT‐3.5 and GPT‐4 on a set of 342 ICE questions sourced from the China MOOC platform. The results reveal significant performance differences between GPT‐3.5 and GPT‐4 across various ICE sub‐disciplines and question types. GPT‐4 shows particular proficiency in understanding control technology and system, achieving an accuracy of 82.16%, compared to 68.42% for GPT‐3.5. Finally, we explore the factors influencing students use LLMs for ICE self‐study and propose strategies for teachers to incorporate LLMs into ICE courses. This study highlights the potential of LLMs to enhance ICE education and provides concrete examples of their application in engineering coursework.

The Petri Net Toolbox (PN Toolbox) for MATLAB is a software package that offers instruments for the simulation, analysis and design of untimed, deterministic and stochastic P-/T-timed and stochastic Petri nets (PNs). The facilities available in this toolbox are appropriate for studying the dynamics of many classes of discrete-event systems. The Petri Net Simulink Block (PNSB) allows the modeling and analysis of hybrid systems whose event-driven part(s) is (are) modeled based on the PN formalism. The current paper focuses on the exploitation of the PN Toolbox for illustrating the usage of the PN theory in Control Engineering from the pedagogic point of view, the discussion being supported by example problems and comments on the teaching goals. The PN Toolbox is included in the Connections Program of The MathWorks Inc., as a third party product.

ONTROL systems for early aircraft turbine engines performed a rather simple task: metering the fuel to the combustor at the proper fuel-to-air ratio for both transient and steady-state operating conditions. More recently, however, things have changed significantly. To achieve higher thrust-to-weight ratios and to improve specific fuel consumption, many additional manipulated engine inputs have been added. Figure 1 shows the trend in complexity in terms of the number of controlled engine variables. Noted are a number of operational engines that have been put into service. Typical of the added engine manipulated inputs are afterburner fuel flow, variable compressor-inlet guide vanes, variable compressor stators, and variable exhaust-nozzle area. The task of designing a control algorithm for an engine having a number of inputs and outputs now becomes a formidable problem. Traditional single-input/single-output techniques can be used, but are often inadequate and require many judgmental interactions to get even close to a suitable engine control law. The designer would really like a direct, straightforward method for handling the multivariable problem. This procedure should be able to eliminate unwanted interactions between the different variables, while bringing into play those interactions that are favorable. Faced with these needs, in the early 1970s the engine control community began to investigate what new design methodologies were available. As a result, a number of researchers began to apply to the engine control design problem tools from the evolving methodology generally termed control theory (MCT). This paper reviews what has been accomplished in applying MCT to the aircraft turbine engine control design problem over the last 10 or so years and what work yet remains to be done. This review is organized as follows: first is a brief discussion of the evolution of control design methodology, followed by a description of the problems that must be faced in applying MCT to the engine control design task. The past accomplishments in applying MCT to engine control is the subject of the third and most detailed section. The paper concludes with a discussion of the future requirements for advanced engine control design. Evolution of Control Design Methodology In the early 1960s, control theoreticians began to use linear state-space methods to design closed-loop controls for large complex physical systems. At the same time, computers that could easily solve the numerical problems associated with large linear system problems were rapidly evolving and becoming readily accessible. Thus began the era of modern control theory. This terminology was used to differentiate the new methods from the traditional linear system, single