random – Fundamentals of Linear Control: A Concise Approach

Aliasing and the brain

I am a long-time subscriber of Wired magazine, which I obviously think is a fine publication otherwise I would no longer be a subscriber, but every now and then there will be some “sciency” article that is misleading. The latest one is here.

Balance scales and integral action. Part II

In a previous post we discussed how the principles of operation of a balance scale could be understood as a feedback loop with integral action. We left off after analyzing the impact of measurement disturbances in the loop and mentioned that input disturbances could be used to model “operator errors.”

Balance scales and integral action. Part I

You can find many accounts of the history of feedback control in books, articles, and online. Some will go back to Greek and Arab antiquity to identify proportional feedback in water clocks, wind mills, advancing to the industrial revolution and the Watt governor. In virtually all of those accounts the feedback loop involves continuous-time signals. So I find it interesting that there is device that man has been using for millennia that requires a discrete-time feedback algorithm and integral action for its operation. That device is a balance scale.

The challenges of position control

On our daily lives we interact with devices (some engineered) that can steer toward a desired position. That could be a linear position, in a cart, in a valve or lock, angular position, in a motor or rotary system, or some more complicated 3D task, such as a robot or human arm. For their ubiquity, some may believe that position control is a simple, almost trivial task. They are up for surprises.

New slides

I have posted new and updated slides. The new slides are based on reveal.js and they have two dimensions: you move up and down on a topic and sideways between sections. Try hitting <ESC> to have an overview of the content. Let me know if you find any mistakes or typos.

Welcome

Welcome to the new website for the book

Fundamentals of Linear Control: A Concise Approach

I will be using this space to post information that complements the contents of the book. I will cover theory and practice, some Matlab examples, and occasional random thoughts, mostly motivated by class discussion. I hope you find this information useful.