Feedback Control Systems

Samet Güler
Today

Objective
I Get familiar with the idea of feedback
I Comprehend the key components of a control system
Feedback Control Examples

Thermostat

I Controls room temperature

Feedback Control Examples

Thermostat

I Controls room temperature

I It takes some time to reach the desired temperature after setting
Behind the Scene

I The controller tries to bring the room temperature to its desired

(set-point) value
I The furnace turns on and off based on the temperature difference
Feedback Control Examples

Automobile cruise control

I Adjusts the acceleration of the vehicle to maintain a desired speed

Feedback Control Examples

Automobile cruise control

I Adjusts the acceleration of the vehicle to maintain a desired speed

I Improved versions can “follow” the front vehicle at a safe
distance by the aid of additional sensors
How It Works

I The controller tries to bring the vehicle speed to its desired

(set-point) value
I The vehicle accelerates or decelerates to adjust the speed
Feedback Control Examples

Aircraft control

I More complicated structure but the idea is same

Feedback Control Examples

Aircraft control

I More complicated structure but the idea is same

I Feed the plant output back to the controller to reach the desired
performance
Feedback Control Examples

Aircraft control

I More complicated structure but the idea is same

I Feed the plant output back to the controller to reach the desired
performance
I Controls the linear and angular positions and velocities based on
feedback from IMU, GPS, etc.
Components of a Control System

I Plant: The system whose output is to be controlled

I Sensors: Mechatronic devices that measure signals in the system
I Actuators: Mechanical systems that actuate the plant
I Controller: A mechanical system or digital algorithm that
generates the required signals to reach the desired output
Plant

I Includes the system process and the actuation mechanism model

I Converts a set of input signals to outputs (throttle angle
converted to velocity in automobiles, joystick angle converted to
pitch/roll angles in aircraft, etc.)
I Affected by noise and disturbances (flow of heat from house, tire
friction in automobiles, etc.)
I Actuator triggers the process (gas furnace, etc.)
Controller

I Computes the desired control signal for the plant based on the
difference between the reference and output signals
I Designed carefully for the particular plant
I Stability, robustness, and flexibility are key design elements
I We will focus on designing controllers in this course
Sensor

I Measures the plant’s output

I Contains noise
I Selection and placement on the plant are critical factors
(thermostat will measure the temperature of one room only)
I Examples: Accelerometer, gyro, temperature sensors, camera,
biosensors, (think about sensors around you and write in Chat)
Example

I Consider the automobile model

I We first define the relationships between the signals in the entire
system (ignoring dynamics and nonlinearity)
I Block diagrams demonstrate these relations
Example - Plant

I On a level road, we find 1 deg change in throttle angle at 70 mph

causes 10 mph change in speed
I However, when going up and down hills, we observe 1% change in
road grade causes 5 mph change in speed
I Multiply the grade change by half
Example - Controller

I First, assume that we do not have the speedometer reading

I Simply multiply the reference signal by 0.1
I This is an an open-loop controller: We want to reach the
reference speed without feedback
I The control signal is independent of the output signal
Example - Controller

Let’s analyze

yol = 10(u − 0.5w)

r
= 10( − 0.5w)
10
= r − 5w

I Error

eol = r − yol
= 5w

I Percent error
w
%error = 500
r
Example - Controller

I If r = 70 mph on a road level,

the car speed will be y = 70
mph
I However, if w = 1%, then,
y = 65 mph so error will be
e = 5 mph
I The error will just increase
with the grade change
Example - Controller
I Now, let’s use the output
signal when making decision
(with an ideal sensor)
I Let’s analyze

ycl = 10(u − 0.5w)

u = 10(r − ycl )
ycl = 100r − 100ycl − 5w
100 5
= r− w
101 101
I Error
r 5w
ecl = −
101 101
I But note that even when
w = 0:
100
ycl = r
101
Example - Controller
I However, this error is quite
small
I What about the error with
grade change?
70∗100 70∗100 5


101 − 101 − 101
%error = 100 70∗100
101
= 0.0714%

Great!
I Speed sensitivity to grade
disturbance is due to the gain
in the controller
I In this course, we will design
feedback controllers and
analyze the benefits and
downsides of different designs
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Conclusion

Reading assignment: Sec. 1.4: A brief history from the textbook