Examples of Control Systems

Abstract

Feedback control is a process of regulating a physical system to a desired output based on the feedback of actual outputs of the system. Feedback control systems are ubiquitous around us, including trajectory planning of a robot manipulator, guidance of a tactical missile toward a moving target, regulation of room temperature, and control of string vibrations. These control systems can be abstracted by Figure 1.1. Here a plant subject to a disturbance d is given, and a controller is to be designed so that the output y tracks the reference r. The plant can be modeled by either a system of ordinary differential equations (finite dimensional systems) or partial differential equations (infinite dimensional systems).