ESE406/505-MEAM513: Lecture 1

Introduction to Feedback and Control

Ali Jadbabaie
January 11, 2005

Goals:
Give an overview of the course; describe course structure, administration
Define feedback/control systems and learn how to recognize main features
Describe what control systems do and the primary principles of control

Reading (available on course web page):

Astrom and Murray, Analysis and Design of Feedback Systems, Ch 1
“For the Spy in the Sky, New Eyes”, NY Times, June 2002.
 Course Administration
Announcements :
•First class is on Tuesday January 13th 2004 in Towne 313 from 12:00-1:30pm.

Course Description: This course is an introduction to analysis and design of feedback control systems,
including classical control theory in the time and frequency domain. Modeling of physical, biological and
information systems using linear and nonlinear differential equations. Stability and performance of interconnected systems,
including use of block diagrams, Bode plots, Nyquist criterion, and Design of feedback controllers.
Suggested pre-requisites: Basic course on ordinary differential equations and linear algebra.
For Systems Engineering Students: knowledge of ESE 210 (SYS 200) material.
For EE students: Knowledge of signals and systems (ESE 325)
Instructor:
•Ali Jadbabaie , jadbabai@seas.upenn.edu ,
Office hours : Wednesdays 2:00-4:00pm, 365 GRW Moore bldg.

Lectures: T- TR 12:00-1:30pm, Towne 313.

Textbook:
•Feedback Control of Dynamic Systems, by Franklin, Powell and Emami Naieni, 4th Edition, Prentice Hall, 2002.
Other References:
•Modern Control Engineering, 4th Edition, by K. Ogata, Prentice Hall, 2001
•Modern Control Systems, 9th Edition, by Dorf and Bishop, Prentice Hall, 2001.
•Automatic Control Systems, by B. Kuo, Prentice Hall, 1995.
Course Notes and Links Reading material for the class will be posted on blackboard
Required reading sources
•R. M. Murray (ed), Control in an Information Rich World: Report of the Panel on Future Directions in Control,
Dynamics, and Systems, SIAM, 2002. Available online at http://www.cds.caltech.edu/~murray/cdspanel/
•K. J. Åström and Richard M. Murray, Analysis and Design of Feedback Systems, Preprint, 2004. Online access on blackboard
•J. Doyle, B. Francis, and A. Tannenbaum, Feedback Control Theory, McMillan, 1992. Online access on blackboard
•Grading : Homeworks : 20% Midterm I: 35% Midterm II : 45%
•Teaching assistants: Nima Moshtagh , Ali Ahmadzadeh

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 Controls Course Sequence

ESE406/505-MEAM513 – Introduction to the principles and tools of

control and feedback
Summarize key concepts, w/ examples of fundamental principles at work

Spring
Introduce MATLAB-based tools for modeling, simulation, and analysis
 Introduction to control design
Provide knowledge to work with control engineers in a team setting

ESE500 – Linear Systems Theory

Fall
Detailed description of state space concepts.
Rigorous analysis and synthesis of time invariant and time varying
systems.

ESE 617/MEAM 613- Nonlinear Systems

• Tools and algorithms for analysis and design of nonlinear control systems

January 11, 2005 3

 What is Feedback?
Miriam Webster:
the return to the input of a part of the System 1
output of a machine, system, or
process (as for producing changes in
an electronic circuit that improve
performance or in an automatic control
device that provide self-corrective
System 2
action) [1920]

Feedback = mutual interconnection

of two (or more) systems Terminology
System 1 affects system 2
System 1 System 2 Closed
System 2 affects system 1
Loop
Cause and effect is tricky;
systems are mutually dependent
Open
Feedback is ubiquitous in natural System 1 System 2 Loop
and engineered systems

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 What do these two have in common?

Tornado Boeing 777

• Highly nonlinear, complicated dynamics!

• Both are capable of transporting goods and people over long distances

BUT

• One is controlled, and the other is not.

• Control is “the hidden technology that you meet every day”
• It heavily relies on the notion of “feedback”

January 11, 2005 5

 Example #1: Flyball Governor
“Flyball” Governor (1788) Balls fly out
as speed
Regulate speed of steam engine
increases,
Reduce effects of variations in load
(disturbance rejection)
Major advance of industrial revolution
Valve closes,
slowing engine

Steam Flyball
engine governor

Boulton-Watt steam engine http://www.heeg.de/~roland/SteamEngine.html

January 11, 2005 6

 Other Examples of Feedback
Biological Systems
Physiological regulation (homeostasis)
Bio-molecular regulatory networks

Environmental Systems
Microbial ecosystems
Global carbon cycle

Financial Systems
Markets and exchanges ESE
Supply and service chains

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 Control = Sensing + Computation + Actuation
In Feedback “Loop”

Actuate Sense
Gas Pedal Vehicle Speed

Compute
Control “Law”

Goals
Stability: system maintains desired operating point (hold steady speed)
Performance: system responds rapidly to changes (accelerate to 65 mph)
Robustness: system tolerates perturbations in dynamics (mass, drag, etc)

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 A modern Feedback Control System

January 11, 2005 9

 Two Main Principles of Control
Robustness to Uncertainty through
Feedback
Feedback allows high performance in the
presence of uncertainty
Example: repeatable performance of
amplifiers with 5X component variation
Key idea: accurate sensing to compare
actual to desired, correction through
computation and actuation

Design of Dynamics through Feedback

Feedback allows the dynamics of a
system to be modified
Example: stability augmentation for
highly agile, unstable aircraft
Key idea: interconnection gives closed
loop that modifies natural behavior
X-29 experimental aircraft

January 11, 2005 10

 Example #2: Cruise Control
disturbance

reference + Control + System

-

Stability/performance
mv  bv  uengine  uhill Steady state velocity approaches
uengine  k (vdes  v ) desired velocity as k  
Smooth response; no overshoot or
velocity oscillations
vdes Disturbance rejection
k 1 Effect of disturbances (hills)
vss  vdes  uhill approaches zero as k  
bk bk
Robustness
 1 as  0 as Results don’t depend on the specific
k  k  values of b, m, or k for k sufficiently
time large

January 11, 2005 11

 Example #3: Insect Flight
hind wing
SENSING
gyroscopes
neural (halteres)
superposition
eyes

specialized
two wings
“power”
(di-ptera)
muscles

ACTUATION

More information:
M. D. Dickinson, Solving the mystery
COMPUTATION
of insect flight, Scientific American,
June 2001.
~500,000 neurons

January 11, 2005 12

 EXAMPLE # 4: Coordinated Control of Manned
and Unmanned Systems

January 11, 2005 13

 Other
Examples

Temperature control
Air bags

EGR control
Active
Electronic fuel injection suspension
Electronic ignition

Electric power Electronic

steering (PAS) transmission

Anti-lock brakes Cruise control

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 Steering
Brakes Anti-skid Wipers Mirrors
Cruise control GPS Radio
Traction control
Shifting Headlights
Electronic ignition
Temperature control Seats
Electronic fuel injection
Seatbelts
Bumpers Fenders
Suspension (control) Airbags
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Gene networks? essential: 230
nonessential: 2373
unknown: 1804
total: 4407

January 11, 2005 http://www.shigen.nig.ac.jp/ecoli/pec

16
 essential: 230
nonessential: 2373

Are these
“redundant?”

No!
January 11, 2005 17
 Cartoon of E.
Coli metabolism

Regulatory
January 11, 2005
feedback 18
 Regulatory
feedback

January 11, 2005 19

 Actuation Sensing

Decision Signaling

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 Organized complexity

Simple behavior
Robust and adaptive
Evolvable
Enormous “hidden” complexity

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 Segway: The human Transporter

January 11, 2005 22

January 11, 2005 23
 Modern Engineering Applications of Control
Flight Control Systems
Modern commercial and military
aircraft are “fly by wire”
Autoland systems, unmanned
aerial vehicles (UAVs) are already
in place
Robotics
High accuracy positioning for
flexible manufacturing
Remote environments: space,
sea, non-invasive surgery, etc.
January 11, 2005
Chemical Process Control
Regulation of flow rates,
temperature, concentrations, etc.
Long time scales, but only crude
models of process
Communications and Networks
Amplifiers and repeaters
Congestion control of the Internet
Power management for wireless
communications
Automotive
Engine control, transmission
control, cruise control, climate
control, etc
Luxury sedans: 12 control devices
in 1976, 42 in 1988, 67 in 1991
AND MANY MORE...
24
 The Internet: Largest feedback system built by man

Applications
Web FTP Mail News Video Audio ping napster

Transport protocols
TCP SCTP UDP ICMP

IP

Ethernet 802.11 Power lines ATM Optical Satellite Bluetooth

Link technologies

January 11, 2005 25

 The Internet hourglass

Applications
Web FTP Mail News Video Audio ping napster

TCP

IP
Ethernet 802.11 Power lines ATM Optical Satellite Bluetooth
Link technologies

January 11, 2005 26

 The Internet hourglass

Applications
Web FTP Mail News Video Audio ping napster
IP under
everything

TCP

IP
Ethernet 802.11
IP on
Power lines ATM Optical Satellite Bluetooth
everything
Link technologies

January 11, 2005 27

 Network protocols.

Files HTTP Files

TCP

IP

packets
packets
packets
packets
packets
packets

Links
Sources
January 11, 2005 28
 Protocol stack Modules
Applications Files

TCP packets
packets
packets
packets
packets
TCP packets

IP packets
packets
packets
packets
IPpackets
packets

packets
packets
packets
packets
Layerpackets
2 packets
Hardware
packets
packets
packets
January 11, 2005
packets
packets
Bits 29
 Animation of the protocols

Files HTTP Files

TCP

packets
packets
packets
packets
packets
TCP packets

January 11, 2005 30

 Animation of the protocols

Files HTTP Files

TCP
packets
packets
packets
packets
packets
TCP packets packets
IP packets
packets
packets
packets
TCP packets

packets
packets
packets
packets
packets
packets

January 11, 2005 31

 Animation of the protocols

Files HTTP Files

TCP
packets
packets
packets
packets
packets
TCP packets packets
IP packets
packets
packets
packets
TCP packets
packets
packets
packets packets
packets
packets
packets
IPpackets
packets packets
IPpackets
packets

packets
packets
packets
packets
packets
LinksLayer 2 packets
packets
packets
Sources
January 11, 2005
packets
packets
packets
Bits 32
Application Application Application
Vertical decomposition Each layer can evolve
Protocol Stack
TCP TCP TCP
independently provided:
1. Follow the rules
2. Everyone else does
IP IP IP IP with IP
“good enough”
their layer

Routing
Provisioning
January 11, 2005 33
Application Application Application

TCP TCP TCP

IP IP IP IP IP
Horizontal decomposition
Each level is decentralized and asynchronous

Routing
Provisioning
January 11, 2005 34
 • Entirely different from the telephone system,
although the parts are essentially identical (VLSI,
Application Application Application
copper, and fiber)
Vertical decomposition

• The Internet is much more like biology and

TCPrelies on feedbackTCP TCP
regulation at every level.
• Only recently has a coherent theory of the
Internet started to emerge and pay off.
IP IP IP IP IP

Routing
Horizontal decomposition
Provisioning
January 11, 2005 35
 Internet

Interface
Application Application

TCP
TCP
Operating Simplify
System IP
IP

Computer
Board
Device Link
January 11, 2005 36
 Links

Sources
January 11, 2005 37
 Routers

Hosts
packets
January 11, 2005 38
 Files

Routers

Hidden from the user

Hosts
packets
January 11, 2005 39
 Routers

Hosts
packets
January 11, 2005 40
 Routers

Hosts
packets
January 11, 2005 41
 Control Tools
Modeling MATLAB Toolboxes
Input/output representations for subsystems + SIMULINK
interconnection rules Control System
System identification theory and algorithms Neural Network
Data Acquisition
Theory and algorithms for reduced order
Optimization
modeling + model reduction
Fuzzy Logic
Robust Control
Analysis Instrument Control
Stability of feedback systems, including Signal Processing
robustness “margins” LMI Control
Performance of input/output systems Statistics
(disturbance rejection, robustness) Model Predictive Control
System Identification
Synthesis µ-Analysis and
Constructive tools for design of feedback systems Synthesis
Constructive tools for signal processing and
estimation (Kalman filters)

January 11, 2005 42

 Magic of Feedback
• Feedback is used to regulate the value of a quantity in a system to a desired level,
by measuring the error, i.e., difference between the desired value and the sensed
value.

•Sometimes the decision is based on the instantaneous value of error, and

sometimes is based on the history of the error, and/or predictions on the future
value of the error. Some times we use all three.

•The performance of a feedback system is measured based on the response to a

“step” change in the reference, or in tracking a sinusoid.

• Feedback regulation will work even when the “components” are uncertain.

• The down side of using feedback is that

 It can cause instability
 It makes the design more complicated

• The main components of a feedback loop are sensing, decision/computation, and

actuation.
• We will use theory of differential equations, linear algebra and complex variables
to analyze feedback systems.

January 11, 2005 43

 Overview of the Course

Wk Tue/Thur
1 Introduction to Feedback and Control

2-3 System Modeling/Analysis,

Review of ODEs, and Laplace Transform
4-5 Stability and Performance
6-7 Tests for stability
8-9 Root locus analysis. Design for time
domain specs.
10- Frequency Domain Design: Bode plot.
11
12- Loop Analysis of Feedback Systems.
14 Nyquist criterion
15 Fundamental Limits on Performance
16 Uncertainty Analysis and Robustness

January 11, 2005 44

 Summary: Introduction to Feedback and Control
Control =
Sensing + Computation +
Actuate Sense Actuation

Feedback Principles
Compute Robustness to Uncertainty
Design of Dynamics

Many examples of feedback and control in natural & engineered systems:

BIO

ESE
BIO

ESE
CS

January 11, 2005 45

 Summary

Feedback control is Every where

you just have to look for it

January 11, 2005 46

 Welcome to

ESE406/505- MEAM513
Control Systems

Instructor: Ali Jadbabaie

jadbabai@seas.upenn.edu
Course website:
on Blackboard

January 11, 2005 47