Development of a low cost control workstation

A low-cost prototype workstation suitable for use in control education and training has been developed. It consists of a PC with analog input-output facilities, a software package, PSCDI (Prototype Software for Control Design and Implementation), built around MATLAB, and a benchtop process. In the prototype, the benchtop process can be either a pair of coupled water-tanks with two inputs and two outputs or a motor set. The analog input-output facilities come from either an onboard card or a microcontroller system linked via a serial line. PSCDI exploits the C file interface of MATLAB to provide a real-time facility. A polynomial approach is used for controller design. The workstation provides for different configurations of the benchtop plant to allow a wide range of design problems. Disturbances and changes in the dynamics of the plant are easily simulated