Accelerating the Pace Toward Smarter Controlled Systems

Abstract

Thirty years ago, computer-aided control system design involved an exclusive community of engineers, typically in top research labs or large companies, running esoteric codes on timeshared minicomputers to design and analyze control algorithms, often for expensive systems produced in low volumes. Today, computer-aided control system design has grown into Model-Based Design, encompassing not only system analysis and algorithm design, but also implementation through code generation, plus verification and validation on both models and embedded code. It is used in every industry that creates today’s smart systems – aerospace, automotive, industrial automation, medical devices, robotics, energy, and many more – not only for the controls but integrating computer vision, communication, and machine learning. In this talk, Jack Little reviews the evolution of control design tools, and the corresponding changes in controls education and research. Jack then looks forward to the future of Model-Based Design and how it is addressing the next generation of control engineers: researchers and developers working on challenges such as cyber-physical systems and distributed systems, but also students and makers taking advantage of easy-to-use software with low-cost hardware – everyone building the smarter controlled systems of the future.