Classical electrical circuitry to support modern control methods

Pneumatic positioning systems have always been attractive for robotics and automation applications due to their high power-to-weight ratio and low cost. On the other hand, achieving fast and accurate control of their position have been known as a complex control problem and in fact it has not been solved yet in a 100% percentage of position accuracy and repeatability. A smart way to implement the three term classical control approach (PID) to such a system is presented in this paper. The I-Term was selected to be "switched" on and off, dynamically and automatically, according to the system control requirements. Although the task sounds challenging for an engineer, the primary aim of this research project is to design and implement an advanced electrical board which will be the embedded interface between an engineer and a pneumatic positioning plant. The interface board will include a microcontroller and all necessary peripheral circuitry as well as the software environment where the control code will be composed. Low cost, easy to pick-up from a local store electrical equipment will be used that can operate under non up to date computer connection thus minimizing the cost of the whole system further. Reliability, low cost and ease of use of the board are critical design factors. The feedback data of the pneumatic system performance will be monitored in a computer monitor via the board´s data acquisition operation in real time.