scholarly journals Two electrical engineers, one problem, and evolution produced the same solution: A historical note

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis Dell'Osso
Keyword(s):  
Control System ◽  
Human Brain ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Step Response ◽  
Second Person ◽  
Large Stimulus ◽  
System Method ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Electrical Engineers ◽  
Chemical Mixing

This note adds historical context into solving the problem of improving the speed of the step response of a low-order plant in two different types of control systems, a chemical mixing system and the human saccadic system. Two electrical engineers studied the above problem: one to understand and model how nature and evolution solved it and the other to design a control system to solve it in a man-made commercial system. David A. Robinson discovered that fast and accurate saccades were produced by a pulse-step of neural innervation applied to the extraocular plant. Leonidas M. Mantgiaris invented a method to achieve rapid and accurate chemical mixing by applying a large stimulus for a short period of time and then replacing it with the desired steady-state value (i.e., a “pulse-step” input). Thus, two humans used their brains to: 1) determine how the human brain produced human saccades; and 2) invent a control-system method to produce fast and accurate chemical mixing. That the second person came up with the same method by which his own brain was making saccades may shed light on the question of whether the human brain can fully understand itself.

scholarly journals Active Control of Regenerative Brake for Electric Vehicles

Actuators ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chun-Liang Lin ◽  
Hao-Che Hung ◽  
Jia-Cheng Li
Keyword(s):  
Control System ◽  
Electric Vehicles ◽  
Pulse Width Modulation ◽  
Short Circuit ◽  
Stopping Time ◽  
Motor Speed ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Braking Torque ◽  
Braking Control ◽  
A Charge

Looking at new trends in global policies, electric vehicles (EVs) are expected to increasingly replace gasoline vehicles in the near future. For current electric vehicles, the motor current driving system and the braking control system are two independent issues with separate design. If a self-induced back-EMF voltage from the motor is a short circuit, then short-circuiting the motor will result in braking. The higher the speed of the motor, the stronger the braking effect. However, the effect is deficient quickly once the motor speed drops quickly. Traditional kinetic brake (i.e., in the short circuit is replaced by a resistor) and dynamic brake (the short circuit brake is replaced by a capacitor) rely on the back EMF alone to generate braking toque. The braking torque generated is usually not enough to effectively stop a rotating motor in a short period of time. In this research task, an integrated driving and braking control system is considered for EVs with an active regenerative braking control system where back electromagnetic field (EMF), controlled by the pulse-width modulation (PWM) technique, is used to charge a pump capacitor. The capacitor is used as an extra energy source cascaded with the battery as a charge pump. This is used to boost braking torque to stop the rotating motor in an efficient way while braking. Experiments are conducted to verify the proposed design. Compared to the traditional kinetic brake and dynamic brake, the proposed active regenerative control system shows better braking performance in terms of stopping time and stopping distance.

Neo-Symbiosis

2011 ◽  
pp. 2773-2777
Author(s):  
Douglas Griffith ◽  
Frank L. Greitzer
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Human Brain ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Process Data ◽  
Half Century ◽  
Human Brains ◽  
Computing Machines

The purpose of this article is to re-address the vision of human- computer symbiosis expressed by J. C. R. Licklider nearly a half century ago, when he wrote: “The hope is that in not too many years, human brains and computing machines will be coupled together very tightly, and that the resulting partnership will think as no human brain has ever thought and process data in a way not approached by the information- handling machines we know today” (Licklider, 1960). Unfortunately, little progress was made toward this vision over 4 decades following Licklider’s challenge, despite significant advancements in the fields of human factors and computer science. Licklider’s vision was largely forgotten. However, recent advances in information science and technology, psychology, and neuroscience have rekindled the potential of making the Licklider’s vision a reality. This article provides a historical context for and updates the vision, and it argues that such a vision is needed as a unifying framework for advancing IS&T.

Model-Based Calibration of a Biogas Engine Control System

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Flory ◽  
Joel Hiltner ◽  
Clay Hardenburger
Keyword(s):  
Control System ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
Electrical Power ◽  
Engine Performance ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Model Based ◽  
Crank Angle ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Exhaust Gas Emission

Pipeline natural gas composition is monitored and controlled in order to deliver high quality, relatively consistent gas quality in terms of heating value and detonation characteristics to end users. The consistency of this fuel means gas-fired engines designed for electrical power generation (EPG) applications can be highly optimized. As new sources of high quality natural gas are found, the demand for these engines is growing. At the same time there is also an increasing need for EPG engines that can handle fuels that have wide swings in composition over a relatively short period of time. The application presented in this paper is an engine paired with an anaerobic digester that accepts an unpredictable and varying feedstock. As is typical in biogas applications, there are exhaust stream contaminants that preclude the use of an oxygen or NOx sensor for emissions feedback control. The difficulty with such a scenario is the ability to hold a given exhaust gas emission level as the fuel composition varies. One challenge is the design of the combustion system hardware. This design effort includes the proper selection of compression ratio, valve events, ignition timing, turbomachinery, etc. Often times simulation tools, such as a crank-angle resolved engine model, are used in the development of such systems in order to predict performance and reduce development time and hardware testing. The second challenge is the control system and how to implement a robust control capable of optimizing engine performance while maintaining emissions compliance. Currently there are limited options for an OEM control system capable of dealing with fuels that have wide swings in composition. Often times the solution for the engine packager is to adopt an aftermarket control system and apply this in place of the control system delivered on the engine. The disadvantage to this approach is that the aftermarket controller is not calibrated and so the packager is faced with the task of developing an entire engine calibration at a customer site. The controller must function well enough that it will run reliably during plant start-up and then eventually prove capable of holding emissions under typical operating conditions. This paper will describe the novel use of a crank-angle resolved four-stroke engine cycle model to develop an initial set of calibration values for an aftermarket control system. The paper will describe the plant operation, implementation of the aftermarket controller, the model-based calibration methodology and the commissioning of the engine.

Monocular fixation in human eye movement

1967 ◽  
Vol 167 (1008) ◽  
pp. 293-315 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Control System ◽  
Eye Movements ◽  
Reasonable Agreement ◽  
Digital Form ◽  
Lever System ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Analysis Of Results ◽  
Fixation Control ◽  
Optical Lever ◽  
Fixation Area

The monocular eye movements associated with the maintenance of fixation have been recorded using the contact lens/optical lever system. The records, in analogue form on magnetic tape, were subsequently converted to a digital form and analysed on a computer. It is found that there is reasonable agreement between the responses of the same subject on different days, Analysis of the magnitudes and preferred directions of saccades and drifts and their interrelationships show that there is an elliptical overall fixation area which is subdivided into a series of overlapping short-period fixation areas. The results indicate that saccades occurring during fixation have one of two functions, either ( a ) to recentre the retinal image on the short-period mean fixation position, or ( b ) to move the short-period fixation area, possibly to avoid retinal receptor fatigue. An organizational model of the fixation control system has been developed from the analysis of results.

Application of an Improved Internal Model Controller Based on the Particle Swarm Optimization in Network Control System

2013 ◽  
Vol 397-400 ◽  
pp. 1137-1144
Author(s):  
Wei Chen ◽  
Wen Bin Wang ◽  
Zhi Kai Zhao ◽  
Zhi Yuan Yan
Keyword(s):  
Particle Swarm Optimization ◽  
Control System ◽  
Internal Model ◽  
Particle Swarm ◽  
Internal Model Control ◽  
Network Control ◽  
Step Response ◽  
Network Control System ◽  
Swarm Optimization ◽  
Internal Model Controller

Internal Model Control (IMC) is widely used in Network Control System (NCS) with its strong robustness and simple parameter adjustment. But the accurate dynamic inversion of the IMC model is not easy to find out. To solve this problem, an improved Internal Model Controller is designed with a PID controller and feedback loop, then the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is used to optimize all the parameters of the improved controller. At last, simulation results show that the improved Internal Model Controller can maintain the system stability and the performance of the step response is extremely great in terms of rapidity and anti-interference ability, compared with the classic internal model controller, which enables NCS to achieve a better control effect.

The Double Step Analysis of Rapid Manual Aiming Movements

1988 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 299-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas C. Barrett ◽  
Denis J. Glencross
Keyword(s):  
Control System ◽  
Initial Response ◽  
Response Amplitude ◽  
Step Response ◽  
Oculomotor Control ◽  
Second Step ◽  
Double Step ◽  
Home Base ◽  
Transition Functions ◽  
Corrective Response

The present paper examines the control principles underlying rapid manual tracking responses to horizontal double-step stimuli. The paper reports an experiment concerned with responses made to step-stimuli presented in quick succession. The amplitude of the second-step was varied between the initial step-position and the home-base. Double-step response parameters were analysed as a function of the determinant time interval (D) between the second step and the onset of the initial response. The initial response amplitude was observed to vary as a function of D. Amplitude transition functions were constructed representing the transition of the initial response amplitude between the two step positions; their slopes, furthermore, depended on the amplitude of the second target step. No delays in the initial reaction time with the interstimulus interval were observed. Minor delays to the onset of a corrective response were observed. These delays were in part related to a movement time constraint that is independent of any limitations in central processing capacity. The present findings for the manual control system are compared to double-step tracking analyses of the oculomotor control system.

The Company

2020 ◽  
pp. 165-203
Keyword(s):  
Control System ◽  
Information Technologies ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Internationalization Process ◽  
Management Control System ◽  
Direct Observations ◽  
Short Period ◽  
The Subject

This chapter presents a Portuguese company of the information technologies industry that did an internationalization process and has implemented a management control system with a very interesting complexity level and that, in reality, crosses the theory present in the different bibliographical references on the subject, with the experience and business practice of its management. Such management practices were so helpful that, in a short period, the company could internationalize its activity and turnover went from 10 million euros to 60 million euros, becoming a reference of its industry in Portugal. It should be noted that the case study was developed through the triangulation of different information sources, such as interviews and meetings, direct observations of management control practices, as well as consultation of documents and internal reports. The authors characterize the company and its evolution, national and international, as well as the management control system implemented with reference to the instruments developed in the previous chapters.

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