A Project-Based Learning Approach to Teach Identification and Control Systems

This paper presents a teaching tool for modeling and control of dynamical systems using a project-based learning approach, which allows engineering and basic science students to develop programming and electronic design skills through the use of fundamental physics. The tool has two main components. The first one is a program that obtains the mathematical model of an electrical circuit from experimental data, and this model is used to design a discrete-time controller. The second component is a C language code generator that takes the controller designed by the first component and implements it on an Arduino board. This tool was tested in the Identification and Simulation undergraduate class at the Universidad del Cauca, proving to be easy to use and motivating for the students within the Industrial Automation Engineering program.