Applied Control Theory for Embedded Systems

Previous chapters have brought us to the point where, given a system design, we

can look at it every which way, analyze and specify its performance, and com-

municate its structure and behavior.

This chapter shows how, once you have a plant chosen and a system specified,

you can design a controller to attain your control system goals.

6.1 Controllers, Filters and Compensators

When a control engineer talks about a compensator, he is referring to an element of

a control system, usually a filter, that corrects or otherwise deals with an element

of the plant’s behavior. Indeed, if the discussion is limited to linear control theory

then the only kind of compensator that enters the discussion will be a linear filter.

For instance, if a plant cannot, ...