CAD for control systems — a review of PC software

Abstract

From its earliest stages of development, the design of control systems has always emphasized graphical techniques. This is true both for single-loop design and also for multi-variable systems that use methods such as the inverse Nyquist array. The complex calculations involved in these techniques originally required large mainframe or minicomputer facilities, but the scene has changed radically with the advent of powerful PC and workstation environments. Inevitably, a large amount of software related to CAD for control systems has become available, and this will be surveyed under the main systems subclasses of modelling (and simulation), identification, and control design.