Graphical Environments for Computer Aided Control System Design

Abstract

The field of graphical environments for the computer-aided design of control systems is surveyed in this paper. It is shown that the principal developments have occurred in the past decade, during which the computing power available, in terms of both hardware and software, has increased rapidly. The salient features of the work of major contributors to the field are described and discussed. Characteristics of a modem graphical environment are identified, and their influence on the design process for control systems is considered. Possible future developments are outlined, and it is concluded that graphical environments will have profound effects on the design, simulation and implementation of control systems, and on the philosophical basis of the whole of control engineering.