MathWorks Robust Control Toolbox and Simulink Control Design

MathWorks has released updated versions of two products, Robust Control Toolbox and Simulink Control Design, which enable engineers to automatically tune complex control systems modelled in Simulink.

Most embedded control systems have a fixed, decentralised architecture with simple tuneable elements such as gains, PID controllers and low-order filters. Enhancements to Robust Control Toolbox and Simulink Control Design let engineers automatically tune all controller elements without changing the controller structure. This eliminates the need for tedious and time-consuming methods of tuning multiloop, decentralised control systems such as successive loop closure.

With the new capabilities, control engineers can select Simulink blocks to tune; specify requirements for bandwidth, stability margins and tracking performance; automatically tune all control system parameters simultaneously; and update selected Simulink blocks with tuned values. The resulting design can be verified by simulating the model.