Model predictive control education using a rapid prototyping industrial platform

• Autores: Massimo Canale, Valentino Razza, Diego Regruto
• Localización: The International journal of engineering education, ISSN-e 0949-149X, Vol. 30, no. 6 (Parte A), 2014, págs. 1486-1498
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The recent advances in implementation methods and in the efficiency of computing devices increased the interest of industry inusing model predictive control (MPC) methodologies in control applications characterized by fast dynamics. In order to cope withsuch a growth of interest, control designers who are adequately trained for the MPC design practice are needed. In this regard,suitable experimental activities must be set up inside the educational programmes involving MPC subjects. In this paper, rapidprototyping (RP) environments play a role of primary relevance in testing and performing MPC design iterations on a real-timesystem. This view introduces a flexible RP tool for MPCs developed on a National Instruments industrial device. It is aimed atallowing students with basic knowledge of predictive control theory, to train their ability in the design of MPC controllers bymeans of a ‘learn-by-doing’ approach. Experimental practice on a magnetic levitation system as well as a student assessment andsurvey data are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed MPC RP environment.