Developing Feedback Control Prototypes Using A Real Time Simulink Environment

An effective undergraduate controls curriculum will have strongly coupled laboratory and classroom components. It is important that the students experience the application of the classroom theory. Mathwork’s Simulink environment is ideal for teaching modeling and simulation of feedback control systems. However, with the addition of a few blocks from the Humusoft Real-Time Toolbox, the Simulink environment can be used for real-time feedback control of a variety of engineering systems. Humusoft’s pre-compiled Simulink blocks allow the integration of hardware interfaces in the Simulink model. Options include serial port access as well as access to a variety of data acquisition boards. This approach allows students to quickly develop control systems within a familiar environment that is equipped with visualization tools such as displays. This software has been used to develop a number of different feedback control systems by students and faculty. The simplicity of implementation makes it ideal for engineering students at all levels. This paper discusses several successful examples including robotic visual servoing, scale-model vehicle identification and control, and automated vehicle navigation.