DSP-based solutions for AC motor drives

The advent of programmable digital signal processors (DSPs) is creating a revolution in monitoring, control, and testing of motor drives. Their special architecture and high performance make it possible to implement a wide variety of nontrivial control and measurement algorithms at high sampling rates and reasonable cost. AC motor drives are typically a complex combination of linear, nonlinear, and switching elements. High-frequency converters add another dimension of complexity because of their fast dynamics. Real time systems, therefore, demand the use of high speed data-acquisition and control. DSPs meet the processing requirements imposed by such systems. In this letter, we study the features that make DSPs highly effective computational engines. We explore some applications requiring the high performance of DSPs. The issues involved in adopting a system architecture, selecting a DSP, and developing software for an application are discussed. The methodology described presents broad guidelines that can be intelligently applied to develop DSP-based solutions to meet specific requirements.