Control Assignment 1

Percentage Points (of final grade): 5.

Groupwork: You may do this assignment in pairs or alone - it is your choice.

READ THE ITALICIZED TEXT! This assignment has been created in MATLAB R2019a. So it is recommended to use this version. Other ones might be problematic. Please note that you must seek help if you have trouble getting this up and running - there are no other options for doing this assignment. If you are unfamiliar with Matlab you need to do what is necessary to get up to speed on it.

Hands-on experience with goals, control, tasks, real-time environments.

• Get Matlab-Simulink up and running on your computer of choice. Let us know asap if you have problems.
  • Simulink comes with Matlab - see quick intro to simulink
• Load in this slx file: Control-assignment-1-Matlab-file.slx
  • You should get something that looks like this:

• PART 1 - PILOTING. You are stranded on an alien planet. Your space ship has crashed and will never fly aqain. Luckily you find an alien space craft that looks like it can take you home. What you see is the controls of that alien space ship. There is just one lever, which controls the space ship's engine thrust. To escape the planet's velocity. To get off the planet you need to keep the thrust between 4000 and 5000 for (approximately) 5 seconds. YOUR TASK: Please practice this skill until you can achieve that goal reliably.
• PART 2 - ENGINEERING. In the control diagram in Simulink you see a bunch of elements connected together. Your second task is to change this wiring incrementally in such a way that makes the task in PART-1 virtually impossible. Add new elements and wires as needed. Investigate what it is that makes the task difficult:
  • PART-2-QUESTION-1: What rules and/or patterns in the predict when control will become more difficult ?
  • PART-2-QUESTION-2:What determines when the “threshold of impossibility” is reached?
• Please hand in a PDF in Canvas describing your method, work, and results.
  • Describe the method you employed, the results you got, and the observations and hypotheses you have at this time regarding this part. This is a prerequisite for being allowed to do the class presentation.
• Please prepare to present your work in class (see Canvas for schedule) for 10 minutes. Demonstrate your control skills in the base configuration as well as under modified control structures.
  • Your presentation will be evaluated by the instructor based, in order of importance, on its (a) thoroughness and well-thoughtoutness, (b) comprehensivity, ( c) plausibility of hypotheses and ideas (as potential explanations for what is observed), and (d) novelty.

EOF