Learning Module for Implementation of Microcontroller-Based PI Control Using the Phase Control Technique

On-site or conventional laboratory activities are essential for the competency-based training of electronic engi-neering students in courses such as Digital Control Systems, in which an important topic is the development of PID controllers. This proposal addresses the feasibility of using microcontroller-based development kits in the teaching of Digital Control Systems and aims to facilitate the implementation of digital controllers in analog electronics environments. For this purpose, a hardware platform has been developed composed of typical elements of a control system such as plant, sensors, conditioning and synchronization circuits but without a controller; in which the student's task is the implementation of a digital control algorithm based on the phase control technique using a microcontroller. The present proposal, which involves a portable hardware unit without a control algorithm, is expected to become an alternative procedure to address practical activities that can be carried out inside and outside the laboratory. It could improve the design skills of engineering students, contributing to their better performance, especially regarding the digital control algorithms project.