The Development of An Undergraduate Laboratory for Control System Design

An undergraduate laboratory for control system design at Texas A&M University consisting of eight experimental stations, each equipped with a computer and control system analysis and design software, interface hardware and software, and several physical plants that will be used for control experiments is described. Among these plants are: 1) a toy called Capsela, 2) a carousel, 3) a coupled tanks apparatus, 4) an electric train, 5) a robot arm, 6) a balance beam apparatus, and 7) an inverted pendulum apparatus. These plants cover a wide range of physical phenomena, and have different properties as far as control is concerned.