Invited Oral Presentations
EJS: A
freeware open
source tool to create web based virtual
and remote labs
Sebastián
Dormido Bencomo
Dept. Informática y Automática
Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Informática
Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia
Madrid, Spain
This lecture discusses the creation of interactive computer simulations that implement virtual laboratories in the field of Control Engineering education. Easy Java Simulations (Ejs), a Java-based tool that helps create interactive dynamic simulations, is introduced. This tool can be used on its own, generating standalone Java applications or applets, or in conjunction with Matlab/Simulink, using them as the internal engine that describes and solves the model. We describe in this lecture this particular feature in detail, and provide some examples that show the advantages that this tool offers to the world-wide engineering education community. Ejs is a freeware, open source, tool aimed for educators with low profile in programming but deep knowledge on certain technical and scientific fields. The tool allows to develop complete, interactive simulations in three steps: describing the mathematical model (optionally using Matlab/Simulink), building the user interface using off-the-shelf graphical elements, and connecting certain properties of these elements to the variables of the model. This last step is the key point to transform a classical simulation into a full interactive application.
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EMSO:
an equation-oriented dynamic simulator and its applications to process
control
Rafael
de Pelegrini Soares
Departamento de Engenharia Química/UFRGS
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Porto Alegre, Brasil
We will present the equation-oriented dynamic simulator EMSO. It is an advanced Computer Aided Process Engineering (CAPE) tool for modeling, simulation and optimization of general dynamic systems. EMSO is the acronym for Environment for Modeling, Simulation and Optimization. We will show how to build dynamic models in this environment, carry out some dynamic simulations, and better understand the concepts of dynamic degree of freedom and debugging techniques for detecting inconsistencies of both static and dynamic models. Further, its integration with Simulink (MatLab) and Scicos (SciLab) will be demonstrated.
Maxima
CAS
Mario
Rodríguez Riotorto
Departamento de Matemáticas
Instituto Punta Candieira de Cedeira –
A Coruña, Spain
Although Maxima is generally considered a Computational Algebra System, it can also perform numerical and graphical computations. Maxima is derived from the Macsyma system, developed at MIT in the years 1968 through 1982 as part of Project MAC. MIT turned over a copy of the Macsyma source code to the Department of Energy in 1982; that version is now known as DOE Macsyma. A copy of DOE Macsyma was maintained by Professor William F. Schelter of the University of Texas from 1982 until his death in 2001. In 1998, Schelter obtained permission from the US Department of Energy to release the DOE Macsyma source code under the GNU Public License, and in 2000 he initiated the Maxima project at SourceForge to maintain and develop DOE Macsyma, now called Maxima. Maxima is written in Common Lisp and runs on different platforms. This talk is a brief introduction to Maxima. It is divided in two parts. First, an overview describing some general aspects of this piece of software will be presented. Secondly, we shall present a series of examples to show its mathematical capabilities, both symbolic and numeric. Examples on graphics and programming are also included.
Experiences
with RTAI-Lab in
the design and implementation of a control
and supervisory system of a coupled tanks plant
Juan Florez
Marulanda
Departamento de Electrónica, Instrumentación y Control
Facultad Ingeniería en Electrónica y Telecomunicaciones
Universidad del Cauca
Popayán, Colombia
Since
2006, the
University of Cauca has been working with RTAI - Lab on
the automation of pilot plants at the Industrial Automatic Engineering
program laboratories. One of the plants considered is the Coupled Tanks
plant that belongs to the Control Process laboratory. The plant is
equipped with industrial instruments such as level transmitter, flow
transmitters, servo valve, electro valve and motor pump. On this
presentation we will describe the design process and subsequent
implementation of the control and supervision system, by using the RTAI
– Lab tool chain. Through this system, students will initially practice
with identification processes by using a time-domain first order with
delay plant model, afterward, they will tune a feedback control and a
cascade control by means of a PID controller (either serial or parallel
form), having or not activated AWBT (AntiWindup and Bump Transfer), and
finally, they will tune the controller, as a regulator (disturbance
rejection) or as a servomechanism (tracking).
We also explain how
to
use the RTAI-Lab tool chain in the design and
implementation of different control diagrams for the Coupled Tanks
plant by using the Scilab/Scicos block diagrams and the RTAI-Lib
palette. These diagrams are used in different experiments with the
plant: process identification, feedback control and cascade control.
These diagrams use FIFOS to allow to read and to write parameters that
modify operation conditions of real - time tasks from an external
program (supervisory system) implemented in Glade. Finally the design
process of the supervisory program for the plant is explained. The
supervision program makes use of Xrtailab, to visualize processes
variables and allows to modify, “on line”, the system operation
conditions, for example, enabling instrumentation; starting motor pump;
generating disturbances; changing transmitter parameters; modifying PID
AWBT controller parameters, etc. All of that, from user-friendly
graphic interfaces in Linux. The supervisory system is designed as a
lab guide, so that it leads incrementally and sequentially to the
student throughout each experiment of the Coupled Tanks plant. Finally,
we comment the obtained results with the system, used by students of
Industrial Automation and Agribusiness Engineering Programs, during two
academic periods at the University of Cauca , Colombia.
RTAI-XML:
A Web Services
Approach to Real-Time Control Systems RTAI-XML
is a
porting of the already mature web services
technology to
the Real Time world. It consists of a server RTAI daemon that works as
a bridge between the RT process (the Target) and the remote procedure
call framework provided by standard protocols like XML-RPC. Once the
Target is able to expose its methods and properties to the Internet
using XML, the RT programmer has no longer to do with presentation
needs. In the same way, the user interface designer can use the
preferred development tool to create GUI-applications for a specific
platform or even multi-platform, forgetting problems related to the
criticity of an RT control and following only presentation and
functionality requirements.
The flexibility of the RTAI-XML paradigm is demonstrated through its
application to different contexts. In particular, during the talk
applications to remote control labs and real-time control of Atomic
Force Microscopes will be presented.
ARTIST, the remote lab at
the University of Florence offers the
possibility to operate with real plants via an internet connection.
Students can design their control algorithms within a CACSD software
environment and connect to the real-time processes running on
RTAI-Linux OS systems.
Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) is a measuring technique in which an
elastic micrometric sized cantilever, with a sharp tip on the top, is
scanned over the sample, allowing to image the surface with nanometric
resolution. Based on this simple working principle, reminding of the
macroscopic mechanical profilometers or feeler pins, AFM is a really
flexible tool, able to image samples ranging from nanostructured
materials (nanotechnology) to living cells (biotechnology). Switching
from one context to another is clearly a matter of designing the
proper measuring head, but also it is fundamental to optimize the
control logic and to develop a dedicated software interface to the
machine. In order
to obtain a flexible AFM system, implementing
different working modes inside a unique framework, the RTAI-XML
paradigm has been adopted. The standard AFM controller was replaced by
a RTAI-Linux PC, interfaced with the AFM head using AD/DA boards.
Michele
Basso and Massimo Vassalli
Dipartimento di
Sistemi e Informatica
Università di
Firenze
Firenze, Italy
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Experimental
platform for the
implementation of control algorithms Laboratory
experiments
in conjunction with simulation tools are
essential in the education–learning process in engineering courses.
Digital Control algorithms are used to control dynamic processes, and
these tools gain greater relevance, helping students to better
understand the theoretical material and provide hands–on experience.
However, the laboratory equipment and its maintenance are obstacles for
most institutions in our countries. This work present an approach to
implement a low cost experimental platform, carried out in Laboratorio
de Electrónica Digital (LED) of the Universidad Católica in Asunción -
Paraguay. The
presentation
consists of two parts and it aims to illustrate
features and usage of the Robotics Toolbox for Scilab/Scicos.
RTSS is a tool intended for modeling and simulation of robotic
manipulators in Scilab/Scicos, a powerful open source environment for
numerical computation. Just this characteristic, the compatibility with
the Scicos RTAI Code Generator and the possibility to be used in
conjunction with the Scicos-HIL toolbox, make RTSS particularly useful
in education, to proficiently teach and explore important robotic areas
such as kinematics, dynamics, trajectory generation and their pratical
applications. Go up
Vicente
González Ayala
Dept. Ingeniería
Electrónica e Informática
Universidad
Católica "Nuestra Señora de la Asunción"
Asunción, Paraguay
This laboratory test
bench consists in a digital position and speed
controller of a DC motor using general purpose components. The digital
control algorithm, which requires real–time execution, is implemented
using Linux and RTAI in an IBM PC compatible computer. The developed
data acquisition board is connected to the computer printer parallel
port. SCILAB/SCICOS is used for the algorithm simulation and, when it
is fully tested, it can be directly exported to RTAI/RTAI-LAB
environment for execution.
Open
Source Robotics with
Scilab/Scicos
Matteo
Morelli
Centro "E.Piaggio"
Facoltà di
Ingegnieria
Università di Pisa
Pisa, Italy
The first part of the presentation will address the general problem of
rigid motions representation in R^3 and will also provide detailed
examples of how robotic manipulators can be modeled in Scilab. The
second part will deal with how robot models can be imported in a Scicos
diagram. Several examples of Closed-Loop Inverse Kinematics (CLIK)
algorithms and centralized control schemes implemented with the “Scicos
Robotics palette” will be presented.
ScicosLab
: A free scientific software package
Alan Layec
METALAU Project
Team
INRIA Rocquencourt
France
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Temperature
Control Platform Based on Scilab/Scicos, Comedi and Rtai-Lab
Jesús
Andrés Jara and William Ipanaqué
Universidad de
Piura
Piura, Perú
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Connecting
Practices for Control Education: Teaching with "Home-Made" Plants
Antonio
Rodrigues Coelho
Department of
Automation of Systems
Federal
University of Santa Catarina
Santa Catarina,
Brazil
Download Presentation Go up Topics covered: •
Brief Introduction
regarding Scilab/Scicos for
control systems.
Tutorial 1: RTAI-Lab,
Scilab, Comedi and Real Time-Control
Roberto
Bucher
Dipartimento
Tecnologie Innovative
SUPSI
Manno, Switzerland
• Linux RTAI
– Installation steps (description of the required packages)
•
RTAI-Lab
– Add-ons for Scilab/Scicos
– The palettes for RTAI.
Topics covered: •
CAN bus and the
CANOpen protocol
Tutorial 2: CANOpen and
RTAI-Lab
Roberto
Bucher
Dipartimento Tecnologie
Innovative
SUPSI
Manno, Switzerland
– CANOpen protocol
– CAN200 dongle (HW, SW)
•
CAN in RTAI-Lab
