Control system design: a survey of personal computer software

Abstract

A review is given of some of the CAD software for control system design and analysis available for personal computers. The computers considered comprise 8-bit and 16-bit machines typified by the BBC and IBM PC ranges. The software described covers the area of simulation, control design, and system identification, together with special topics such as graphics pre-processors. The simulation packages concentrate on continuous systems, but some mention is made of discrete system packages used, typically,in the manufacturing process industries. The design packages mainly cover single- variable control systems, but some attention is given to multivariable design. The identification packages only cover the single- variable case. Tables are presented to give some idea of relative performance, and to assist in software selection.