ECTS - University of Pisa
The course is dedicated to students who have already a background in programming (C/Matlab), electronics (basic of digital and Analog circuits), and signal theory.
The class provides fundamental competences to design, control and implement automatic systems driven by digital controllers. The class offers to its students competences to design control architecture based on a functional description of the system behavior. Major outcomes: Analyze Robotics and Industrial Automation problems Define operation and control cycles/algorithms Identify appropriate sensors, actuators and control electronics, Model the system and the controller through electronics and/or digital simulations. Test the overall performance Integrate and Implement control specification on embedded systems.
The student has to demonstrate (Expected outcome): Good knowledge of theory concepts (as for the program above). Problem analysis and modeling Hardware/software Design The student has to demonstrate (Validation criteria): - During the oral exam the student must be able to demonstrate his/her knowledge of the course material and be able to discuss the reading matter thoughtfully and with propriety of expression. - The student must demonstrate the ability to put into practice and to execute, with critical awareness, the activities illustrated or carried out under the guidance of the teacher during the course.
Methods:
Further information:
Final exam consist of a design test held within the oral session, plus questions on the theory delivered during lessons. Students who requested a project work may discuss their work content as part of the design activities.
The course is composed of two modules which can be sustained individually or, if scheduling time will allow it, consecutively in the same day. The final score would be assigned as average of the individual tests.
The student who completes the course successfully will be able to demonstrate a solid knowledge of the basic control theories for digital systems and will be able to understand electronic circuits and design the related control software for the control of mechanical systems. He/she will acquire knowledge of physical modeling problems and of the typical architectures for the control of electro-mechanical systems.
Project work, exam test, design questions during the oral.
We consider the course being able to help the user solving practival, multidisciplinary, multi-physics problems, by coupling background theory, with models, control and related implementation software. The problems will be described from several perspectives from background theory, to implementation, to estimation and problem solving.
If the student will choose the verification modality that includes the final project, he will also face issues such as use of practical instruments, team working, assembling and manufacturing of prototypes, writing quality technical reports.
Tutor will follow up design and team working phases
The quality of results and the written relationship will be checked just before the exam
The competences acquired (in case of multiple users) will be verified during the exam
MAthematics, Programmming, Signal Theory, Basic of Electronics
For project work: Manual skills, Precision, cooperation skills, problem solving
For the digital control part: basic continuos time systems and control design in the frequency domain
none
Robotics
Control
The class will include a wide amount of laboratory experiment. For a best learning the student is invited to follow the laboratory lessons which also include design methodologies, problem solving, and discussion of non core theory topics.
Delivery: face to face
Learning activities:
Attendance: Mandatory
Teaching methods:
The course provides notion of the mathematical theories of modelling and control both in the case of continuous time control systems and of digital control. Theoretical lessons are complemented with test cases, and laboratory practices using computer-aided design software. For what regards the Mechatronics approach, modelling techniques for elementary physical systems are described; moreover, input-output interfaces (sensors, drivers and actuators) are shown and a set of common electronics standards for data communication and signal conversion. Practical lessons will use a DSP processor platform and commercial electronics. Laboratory lessons also introduce to the use of instruments for diagnosis and debug.
The class will investigate the compoenents involved in the automation system design according to four different perspectives: mechanical characteristics, electronic interface, programming and control. PART I - Physics Review of Mechanics laws for a rigid body (Cinematics and Kinetics) Analysis of relevant mechanisms for motion and force transmission. System equivalence (rotoational, linear, electric, hydraulicc and thermal systems); PART II - Interfaces Review of principal actuators (PM-DC motors, Step motors,...) Review of principal sensors (encoder, resolver, force sensors, LVDT,...) Driving electronics, digital and analog sensing, major data acquisition busses. PART III - Programming and control The class will include theory and laboratory practice to integrate elementary force and position control schemes on a target ARM microcontroller. These perspectives will cross-compared to understand how the choices will interfere each other and concur to the overall system perform
Digital control module: The module quickly reviews basic concepts of continuous time control systems, then it introduces to the theory of digital control: discrete time dynamic systems, sampled data systems, conversion from continuous to discrete time, frequency analysis (Z-Transform), stability, steady state and transient analysis, model based digital control system design (both from continuous time and direct), standard regulators (PID), digital filters. Pole placement and direct synthesis.
Lecture notes will cover almost all the topics covered during lessons.
Other recommended learning may include: 1. Norman, Birkofer, Maschinenelemente und Mechatronik I, 2002, McGraw Hill 2. Irwin, Wilamowski, Control and Mechatronics, CRC Press, 2011 3. Moudgalya, Digital Control, John Wiley, 2007ics, McGraw-Hill, 2007 4. Irwin Wilamowski Eds, Fundamentals of Industrial Electronics, CRC PRess, 20111 5. David & Histand, Introduction to Mechatronics and Measurement Systems, McGraw Hill, 4th Ed. 2012 6. McGill, King, An Introduction to Dynamics, 4th Ed, Tichenor Publishing, 2003 7. “Mechatronics by bond graphs”, Springer Verlag 2003, ISBN 3-540-42375-3 A STM32F4 will be employed during practical laboratory experiments. Course Software: 1. GCC-ARM-NONE-EABI with floating point (from launchpad) 2. CooCox / CoIDE (From coocox.com) 3. CircuitLab (Plugin chrome) 4. Matlab/Simulink (form mathworks.com) 5. Gnu-utils (various sources, used for MAKE)
For the Digital Control Module: Digital Control, Kannan Moudgalya, Wyley
Contattare il docente prima dell inizio del corso. Effettuare per conto proprio le attività di laboratorio. Concordare con il docente le competenze di autonomia su attività di laboratorio necessarie. Registrarsi alla cartella condivisa del corso. Verificare regolarmente il materiale di lezione, gli esperimenti fatti a lezione e eventuali aggiornamenti al materiale didattico.
Contact teacher ahead the course, do laboratory session at home by yourself, check with teacher the list of laboratory activities you must be able to solve alone. Register to the Yearly shared DB folder. Verify regularly lesson material, laboratory experiments, and up to date didactic material.
In the written exam, the student must demonstrate his/her knowledge of the course material and to organise an effective and correctly written reply. During the oral exam the student must be able to demonstrate his/her knowledge of the course material and be able to discuss the reading matter thoughtfully and with propriety of expression. The student must demonstrate the ability to put into practice and to execute, with critical awareness, the activities illustrated or carried out under the guidance of the teacher during the course.
For the Mechatronics module, the student can choose between two types of final evaluation test.
Type 1: Laboratory practical, Computer assisted, mechatronics design and control test, accompained with a final oral exam. The test session starts with a computer assisted design problem which should be solved and discussed during the oral. The computer assisted design problem can concern any topic covered during the lessons, such as: mechanical modelling, physical based modelling, embedded controller programming, identification of systems, parameter estimation, design issues, validation issues.
Type 2: Final project work involving the design and development of a practical mechatronic system. The project to be completed in autonomy by the student,during the project development activities can be followed by a tutor assigned by the teacher within the experts in the matter. The final project concludes its activities with an associated report to be discussed in an oral test together with the demonstration of the project work results. This second type of final evaluation can be joined with the Digital Control part, so that a design project can be assigned which covers both Mechatronics and Digital Control.
Independtly from the type of verification, the final oral can include three or more questions on the topics not covered in the practical part.
Digital Control: (if not involved in Type 2 mechatronics exam) Final exam consists in an assessment of the results of a control design activity, conducted with the aid of software in the computer room, and a successive oral exam discussion on course topics.
Not Required
Each year all material will be shared among students using a Dropbox Folder
Il docente è disponibile per discussioni (quando le tempistiche lo permettano) sia prima che dopo le lezioni. Non esiste un orario settimanale regolare, ma appuntamenti possono essere concordati per email con il docente.
Teacher is available for discussion at the end (or before if possible) of each lesson. There is not regular (weekly timetable) so receiving time should be asked by email to the teacher.
