Automatic

Control Systems
Lecture 1: Overview and Intro
• Introduction to control systems
• Control system examples
– open loop vs. closed loop

• Introduction to control system design process

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 What is “Control”?
• Make some object (called system, or plant)
behave as we desire
• Imagine “control” around you!
– Room temperature control
– Car/bicycle driving
– Human body temperature control
– “Control” (move) the position of the pointer
– Cruise control or speed control
– Process control, etc.

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 Why do we need “Control Systems”?
• Convenience (room temperature control, laundry
machine)
• Safety (hot/cold places, bomb removal)
• Overcome accessibility problems (nanometer scale
precision positioning, work inside small spaces that
human cannot enter)
• Lower cost, increase efficiency, etc.

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 Open-Loop Control
• Open-loop Control System
– Toaster, microwave oven, shooting a basketball

input output
Plant

 Calibration is the key!

 Can be sensitive to disturbances

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 Example: Toaster
■ A toaster toasts bread, by setting timer.

Setting of timer Toasted bread

Toaster

■ Objective: make bread golden browned and crisp

■ A toaster does not measure the color of bread
during the toasting process
■ For a fixed setting, in winter, the toast can be white
and in summer, the toast can be black
(Calibration!)
■ A toaster would be more expensive with sensors to
measure the color and actuators to adjust the timer 6

based on the measured color

 Example: Laundry Machine

■ A laundry machine washes clothes, by

setting a program
Program setting Washed clothes
Machine

■ A laundry machine does not measure how

clean the clothes have become
■ Control without measuring devices
(sensors) are called open-loop control

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 Ex: Automobile direction control

■ Attempts to change the direction of the automobile

Steering
Desired Error
wheel Direction
direction
Brain Hand angle Auto

Eye

■ Manual closed-loop (feedback) control

■ Although the controlled system is “Automobile”, the
input and the output of the system can be
different, depending on control objectives

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 Ex: Automobile cruise control

■ Attempts to maintain the speed of the automobile.

Disturbance
Error
Desired Acceleration
speed Speed
Controller Actuator Auto

Sensor

■ Cruise control can be both manual and automatic.

■ Note the similarity of the diagram above to the
diagram in the previous slide!

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 Closed-Loop (Feedback) Control

■ Compares actual behavior with desired behavior

■ Makes corrections based on error
■ Sensor and the actuator are key elements of a
feedback loop
■ Design of control algorithm
Signal Input Error output

Controller Actuator Plant

+
-

Sensor

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 Control System Example
• Cruise Control Example

Control
Engine Car
desired Algorithm throttle actual
speed angle force speed
(voltage)

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 Open-loop Control
[feedforward]
disadvantages advantages
• sensitive to errors • simple to design
in model • inexpensive
• sensitive to • doesn’t affect
disturbances stability
• needs periodic • fast response wind force,
recalibration gravity force

Control -
Engine Car
desired Algorithm throttle + actual
speed angle force speed
(voltage)

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 Closed-loop Control [feedback]
disadvantages advantages
• extra complexity • robust to errors
• extra cost in model
• can affect stability • robust to
• can be slow to disturbances
respond D wind force,
gravity force
CONTROLLER ACTUATOR PLANT
R + E Control -U Y
Engine Car
desired - Algorithm throttle + actual
speed angle force speed
(voltage)
SENSOR

Speedometer
measured
speed
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Component Block Diagram of
Automobile Cruise Control

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 Example
• After measuring the speed of a vehicle on a level
road at 65 mph, we find that a 10 change in the
throttle angle (our control variable, u) causes a
10 mph change in speed (the output variable, y).
From observations while driving up and down
hills, it is found that when the grade changes by
1%, we measure a speed change of 5 mph. The
speedometer is found to be accurate to a
fraction of 1 mph and will be considered exact.

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Mathematical Model

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 Open-Loop Control

𝑦𝑜𝑙 = 10 𝑢 − 0.5𝑤 𝑒𝑜𝑙 = 𝑟 − 𝑦𝑜𝑙 =5w

𝑟
= 10 − 0.5𝑤 = 𝑟 − 5𝑤 𝑤
10 %𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = 500
𝑟
 Closed-Loop Control

𝑦𝑐𝑙 = 10𝑢 − 5𝑤 100 5

𝑦𝑐𝑙 = 𝑟− 𝑤
𝑢 = 10 𝑟 − 𝑦𝑐𝑙 101 101
𝑟 5𝑤
𝑦𝑐𝑙 = 100𝑟 − 100𝑦𝑐𝑙 − 5𝑤 𝑒𝑐𝑙 = 𝑟 − 𝑦𝑐𝑙 = +
101 101
101𝑦𝑐𝑙 = 100𝑟 − 5𝑤
Systematic Controller Design Process
Disturbance
Reference Input Output
Controller Actuator Plant

Sensor

4. Implemenation
1. Modeling

Controller
Mathematical model

2. Analysis
3. Design

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 Typical Goals of Good Control
• Stability. The system must be stable at all times. This is
an absolute requirement
• Tracking. The system output must track the command
reference signal as closely as possible
• Disturbance rejection. The system output must be as
insensitive as possible to disturbance inputs
• Robustness. The aforementioned goals must be met
even if the model used in the design is not completely
accurate or if the dynamics of the physical system
change over time

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 Goals of this Course

To learn basics of feedback control systems

■ Modeling as a transfer function and a block diagram
• Laplace transform (Mathematics!)
• Typical systems
■ Analysis
• Step response, frequency response
• Stability
■ Design
• Root locus technique, frequency response technique,
PID control, lead/lag compensator
■ Theory, (simulation with Matlab), practice in laboratories

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 Course Roadmap

Modeling Analysis Design

Laplace transform Time response

Design specs
• Transient
Transfer function • Steady state
Root locus

Models for systems Frequency response

Frequency domain
• Bode plot
Linearization PID & Lead-lag
Stability
Design examples

(Matlab simulations &) laboratories

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