Digital control systems implement control laws using digital devices like microcontrollers. They are now common in automotive, aerospace, manufacturing and other industries. This lecture discusses the basics of digital control systems, including:
- Examples of digitally controlled systems like vehicle speed regulation, autopilots, pharmaceutical processes and robotics.
- The components of a digital control system, including analog-to-digital converters, digital controllers implemented in software, and digital-to-analog converters.
- Advantages of digital control systems like easy modification, consistent performance, and lower cost compared to analog controllers. Disadvantages include potential degradation from sampling and quantization.