Symbolic computing in computer-aided control system analysis and design

A review of research on the applications of symbolic computing in the manipulation of control system models and equations is presented. The review is focused on two areas: the simplification of signal-flow-graph and block-diagram models and the manipulation of state variable models and equations. A number of applications based on software, including MACSYMA, LISP and PROLOG, are examined and compared to some of the more conventional approaches used in computer-aided control system design (CACSD) software. The author's work, which is aimed at the development of a graphic-symbolic preprocessor of control system models that can be integrated with existing CACSD software packages, is described. The benefits of coupling symbolic and numerical processing in the context of CACSD are discussed and some research topics that may develop as a result of such coupling are suggested.<
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