Case for a Course in Digital Control in the Undergraduate Engineering Technology Program

To control is a basic instinct in human beings. Control engineering is required in almost every branch of engineering. With the advent of computers, more and more shift is happening towards their use in controlling systems. Educators have for a long-time believed that it is necessary to learn the control of continuous-time systems before moving on to discrete-time control (also known as digital control) systems. While disagreeing with this belief, the authors hold the view that, even though several physical systems operate continuously in time, sensing, measuring and processing of control data and corrective actions are basically discrete methods. Therefore, it is imperative that a course in Control should start with the discrete signals and systems. The basics learned from discrete signal and systems can be easily applied in continuous-time systems by using a very small sampling-time interval. The proposed course starts with discrete-time concepts but concurrently introduces the continuoustime concepts and methods. The Z-transform and Laplace transforms are both introduced in a single chapter, moving on to discrete systems, responses and control methods, conversion of continuoustime systems to discrete systems for digital control. The later process requires working knowledge of Laplace transform and methods. The course tops off with the feedback control methods and implementation of the digital controller transfer functions using Digital Signal Processor. The proposed course uses MATLAB extensively to illustrate the control concepts and examples. Each concept has an example which the instructor can take up in the classroom or assign for selfstudy. Students can use these numerous examples for experiential learning. The course also uses SIMULINK examples to show sample-by-sample processing of the concepts of control. Lastly the course gives examples of how to implement a digital controller using a Digital Signal Processor such as the Texas Instrument’s 320C6713 processor. This course has been tested in the classroom. The paper will present the detailed syllabus comprising of week-wise lecture topics and the laboratory exercises, as well as the student satisfaction survey, student’s feedback at the end of the class, and instructor’s self-assessment.