Control theory is interested in how we can allow systems with interconnected components to function with a desired system response (often autonomously). A key element of this is feedback within systems, which protect against disturbances, noise, and uncertainties of parameters.
This study is fundamentally the study of dynamical systems
There’s broad applications of control theory in:
- Robotics
- Autonomous vehicle
- Active prosthetic devices
- Bio-molecular regulatory networks
- Multi-agent networks (i.e., a smart grid, communications)
Basics
Some components used within control systems include:
- Sensors, which provide measurements of an external signal.
- Actuators, used by the system to alter or adjust the environment.
- Plant (or process), which is the device or system under control.
An open-loop control system is a connected system that gets the desired response only with actuators and controllers, without a feedback connection. Closed-loop systems have feedback, which allow it to reject external disturbances and deal with noise better. Many control systems contain more than one feedback loop.
Block diagrams are an important visual representation of control systems. They allow the system’s components to be visualised in terms of their dependencies, and also facilitates design within Simulink and other design tools.