CONTROL SYSTEMS, ROBOTICS, AND AUTOMATION – Vol.

I - Control Systems, Robotics, and Automation - Heinz

Unbehauen

CONTROL SYSTEMS, ROBOTICS, AND AUTOMATION

Heinz Unbehauen
Control Engineering Division, Department of Electrical Engineering and Information
Sciences, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany

Keywords: actuator, adaptive control, automation, auto-tuning, biological control

system, block diagram, Bode diagram, chaotic behaviour, closed-loop control,
compensator, computer-aided engineering, computer vision, controller, cybernetics,
decentralized control, digital control, discrete-event system, distributed control,
distributed parameter system, disturbance, dynamical system, economical system, fault
diagnosis, fault-tolerant control, feedback, feedforward, field bus, frequency-domain,
frequency response, fuzzy control, genetic algorithms, governor, hierarchical structure,
hybrid system, identification, intelligent control, internal model, Kalman filter,
knowledge-based system, large-scale system, linearization, linear quadratic regulator,

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local area network, management information system, mobile robot, model, model-based

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control, model reference adaptive control, neural control, neuro-fuzzy control, neural
network, nonlinear control, Nyquist diagram, observer, on-off control, open-loop
control, optimal control, parameter estimation, performance criterion, plant, position
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control, power spectrum, predictive control, process, reference input, regulator,
repetitive control, robotics, robustness, sampled-data control, self-tuning, sensitivity,
sensor, separation principle, signal, sliding-mode control, sociological system, stability,
state-space, subsystem, supervisor, supervisory control, symbolic modelling, time-
domain, transfer function, transfer matrix, two-dimensional system, visual servoing
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system.
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Contents
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1. Introduction
1.1. What is a Dynamical System?
1.2. Introductory Examples for Simple Closed-Loop Control Systems
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1.3. Block Diagram Representation

1.4. Automatic and Manual Control
1.5. Automation and Robotics
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1.6. Cybernetics
2. Feedforward and Feedback Control
2.1. Feedforward or Open-Loop Control
2.2. Feedback or Closed-Loop Control
2.3. Some Simple Examples of Feedback Control Systems
2.4. Elements of Feedback Control Systems
2.5. Servomechanism, Regulator, and Process Control
2.6. Continuous and Discontinuous Operation of Automatic Control Systems
3. Analysis and Design of Feedback Control Systems
3.1. Describing the Dynamical Behavior of Systems
3.2. Performance Objectives
3.3. Controller Design
3.4. Non-Standard Types of Control Systems
4. Higher-Level Control Systems

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4.1. Adaptive Control Systems

4.2. Large-Scale Systems
4.3. Control of Discrete-Event Systems and Hybrid Systems
4.4. Supervisory Distributed Control Systems
4.5. Fault Diagnosis and Fault-Tolerant Control Systems
5. Applications
5.1. Control of Robot Manipulators
5.2. Other Technical Applications
5.3. Nontechnical Fields of Application
5.4. Computational Tools for Application of Control Systems
6. History
7. Outlook on Some Trends in Future Research and Developments
8. Conclusions
Glossary
Bibliography

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Biographical Sketch

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Summary
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Life support systems (LSS) are related with technical, economical, biological, or
ecological fields. In almost all technical systems automatic control devices are used.
Spectacular human achievements, such as energy generation by power plants, petroleum
refining, space missions, traveling by airplanes, railways, and cars, to mention only a
few, have been rendered possible only because of the progress of control technology.
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The question is not “what do control, automation and robotics have to do with LSS,” but
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“how can LSS design and operation be improved by the support of control
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technologies”? Doubtless, control engineering represents one of the key technologies of

the future, together with information technologies.
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Control engineering has been essential for the evolution of, and revolutions in,
automation. It is important that developments at low-level continue, although the main
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impacts for further research and development are nowadays mainly increasing at higher
system levels, where new types of functionality and intelligent control systems are
located. The computational infrastructure providing the necessary hardware and
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software is already available through the fast advances in information technologies.

This article tries to give a broad and, hopefully, easily understandable introductory
survey of classical and modern theoretical methods and applications concerned with the
theme “Control Systems, Automation and Robotics.” It is not possible in such an
introductory contribution to cover all theoretical and practical aspects of the field.
Section 1 provides a short introduction to the basic elements of control systems and
automation.

Section 2 outlines the difference between feedforward and feedback control structures.
Section 3 covers the basic ideas of analysis and design for classical feedback control
systems, whereas Section 4 presents the structures of higher-level modern control
systems. Section 5 is concerned with applications in robotics and other engineering
disciplines as well as in nontechnical areas. Section 6 provides an insight into the

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historical development of automatic control systems, and, finally, in Section 7 some

trends in future developments are discussed. Some critical remarks in Section 8
conclude this article.

Due to the relatively simple mathematical treatment, this article addresses a broad
spectrum of readers who may only have elementary knowledge in engineering and
mathematics. For those who would like a deeper insight, they can select from nearly
forty topic-level contributions under this broad theme. Finally, those who wish to
further specialize can find valuable information on the state of the art in around 180
article-level contributions under this theme.

1. Introduction

1.1. What is a Dynamical System?

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Control can be found in technical as well as nontechnical systems. A system can be a

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single object, element, component, or a collection of objects by some form of
interconnection or interdependence. A system is characterized by input and output
variables for which there are cause–effect relationships. For example, a simple system is
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given by a thermometer the input variable of which is the temperature to be measured.
The output is the indicated physical value on a standard scale.

If a thermometer indicating room temperature is put suddenly into hot water then the
indication of the high temperature takes a short time to reach the high true scale value.
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Due to the time-dependent indication, a thermometer can be denoted as a dynamical

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system. The time-behavior can be described by the curve of the indicated temperature
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(output variable) after suddenly changing the ingoing temperature (input variable) from
20 ºC to 80 ºC as shown in Figure 1.
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In such a system the cause-effect relationship is given by the arrows of the input and
output variables representing the direction of the signal or information flow within the
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system. A single-input/single-output (SISO-) system is usually characterized by a

symbolic block structure as in Figure 1.
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Figure 1. Block diagram and time response of a thermometer representing an example

of a SISO system

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A system having several input and/or output variables is denoted as multi-input/multi-

output (MIMO-) or multivariable system, as for example a boiler with temperature and
pressure of the superheated steam as output and fuel, and air and water flow rates as
input variables. In many cases SISO- and MIMO-systems can be arranged in several
interconnected and hierarchically organized levels, as it is the case in complex
production or economic processes. Such systems are defined as multi-level or large-
scale systems.

1.2. Introductory Examples for Simple Closed-Loop Control Systems

The terms, control and system are closely interrelated. Control is the process of forcing
a system output variable to conform to some desired value, called reference value.
Control can be performed manually, automatically or semi-automatically. In order to
gain a better understanding of the task of control, some simple examples are considered.
Driving a car is an excellent example of manual control. The driver has to follow the

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given direction of a road. He/she observes the actual path of the car and then forces the

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car, operating the steering wheel, to track the desired path as closely as possible. The
driver performs the following steps in detail:

•
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The driver uses his eyes as sensors for obtaining measurements, both of the car’s
actual path and the road course.
• Then he/she compares both directions and generates an error signal, which is used
to decide in which direction to move the steering wheel.
•
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The driver actuates the steering wheel according to his decision, making the car, the
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controlled object, move to the desired direction.

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Figure 2. Manual control of a car’s direction of travel

An animal or any hindrance on the road acts as a disturbance and should be avoided if
possible. After reaching such a disturbance, the driver must return the car to the desired

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direction. These three steps of measuring, decision, and manipulation are characterizing
the driver’s manual control action (see Figure 2).

As another example, let us briefly consider the tiresome problem of controlling body
weight. Let us assume that an overweight person decides to reduce his/her weight to the
desired amount by following a recommended diet. Every day he/she measures his/her
weight and compares it with the desired one. The error or difference between actual and
desired weight is used for deciding whether to continue or to stop the diet. His/her
action, when continuing, is to resist all culinary temptations, so he/she may reach, after
a few weeks, the desired ideal weight.

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Figure 3. Body weight control problem

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The procedure of measuring, decision, and manipulation again represents a typical

control task (see Figure 3).
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Figure 4. Manual level control (a) and corresponding block diagram (b)

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Figure 5. Block diagram of an automatic closed-loop control system (r reference value;
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e = r – y error or actuating variable; d disturbance; y′ controlled variable; y measured
controlled variable; u control variable; u′ manipulating variable)

The last example is concerned with the problem of keeping the level in a water reservoir
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constant. Figure 4 shows that the information of the level sensor is directly transmitted
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to the operator’s panel board.

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The operator compares the measured and desired (reference) values. If the measured
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level deviates from the desired level, the operator actuates a motor-driven valve to
increase or decrease the water flow until the reference level is reached again. Changes
in the water flow rate at the outlet have to be considered as disturbances for the level
control. All steps performed by the operator are typical manual control actions. Of
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course, in this case the operator can easily be replaced by a device, denoted as controller.
Thus the complete control action is performed by an automatic control system, as
shown in Figure 5. In all examples discussed above we have a similar block structure as
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in Figure 5.

1.3. Block Diagram Representation

From Figures 4 and 5 we see that the operation of control systems can easily be
represented by a block diagram in which single blocks are connected by signals,
characterized by straight lines with arrows.

A box is used as a symbol for a system in which the input signal is processed, by a
special operation (or operator), to obtain the corresponding output signal. A circle is the
symbol to indicate, with the corresponding sign, a summing or subtracting operation.
Block diagrams have the advantage of characterizing very realistically the actual
processes that are taking place, because blocks can be combined to form the overall
block diagram for an entire system.

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1.4. Automatic and Manual Control

Automatic control systems can be found in many places. In engineering applications

they range from simple, switch-controlled thermostats used in every electric iron or
coffee machine, up to highly advanced autopilots for supersonic aircrafts. The human’s
capability to build such devices, which automatically control the broad range of
machines and technical processes, represents a cornerstone in the development of
modern technology. Control systems have influenced our way of life and have become
an integral part of modern society.

Their applications are ubiquitous and exist all around us. They are often referred to as
stealth technology, and are sometimes a big secret, because they are usually invisible as
an integral part of a plant, and the user is more interested in the desired result.
Automatic control has played an important role in the development of engineering and
science by controlling all kinds of devices required for increasing productivity and

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maintaining quality of life. In an advanced society automatic control systems are

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necessary for the production of goods required by an increasing world population.
Nevertheless, manual control is still applied in many cases, especially where safety is
involved, as in supervisory roles, such as an operator in a power plant or a driver of a
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car or bicycle.

1.5. Automation and Robotics

The control of industrial and other processes, mentioned above, by automatic rather than
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manual means is often called automation. Automation has played an integral part, and a
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vital role not only in modern industrial processes, but also in traffic, robotics, and
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automotive systems. Typical examples where automation takes place include: chemical,
steel, electric power, and automobile industries, among others. Automation is
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characterized by self-acting machines and devices with integrated control systems that
are often arranged in complex industrial processes or systems.
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Automation of such processes as tooling, handling, and assembling consists of

measuring, controlling, monitoring, supervising, and so on, and is usually arranged in
several hierarchically structured levels and co-ordinated by a supervisory control system.
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Automation provides a means for attaining optimal product quality, increases

productivity, and relieves humans of many monotonous, routine, and repetitive
activities. Furthermore, automation can perform tasks, which are far beyond the
physical abilities of humans, such as positioning accurately a large radio telescope at the
predetermined location.

Nowadays, many automated industrial manufacturing processes are performed by

multiple-link computer-controlled robots. Their links rotate in a co-ordinated manner
corresponding to a variety of tasks, such as welding, spray-painting, or parts assembling
in the automobile industry. The engineering discipline for developing and application of
multi-link computer-controlled robots is relatively new and is denoted as “robotics.”
Control systems engineering, besides image processing and measurement techniques,
represents essentially the background for robotics.

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1.6. Cybernetics

However, control systems span not only the entire field of human engineered systems,
they also exist in nature, which is equipped with superb engineering capabilities. In our
body we have high-precision control systems for regulating the body temperature, blood
sugar, blood pressure, eye-movement, hand position, up-right standing, and many more.
In living objects, control systems have existed as long as life itself. But also many
phenomena in economics and social systems can nowadays be considered as due to
control.

The relationship between the dynamical behavior in technical, biological, economic,

and social control systems is obvious and, therefore, has given rise to “cybernetics,”
which was so named in 1948. Although this general definition describes all systems,
living and technical, to be both information and control systems, it has not become very
popular in engineering sciences. Nevertheless, all kinds of control systems can be dealt

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with using the same tools of control system theory.

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2. Feedforward and Feedback Control
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As already discussed, control systems widely exist and they are truly inter-disciplinary
in terms of the knowledge associated with them. However, they all share common
characteristics. Their primary function is to act and provide as an appropriate input
signal to a dynamic process or plant such that a desired behavior in terms of the output
signal is achieved. The cause–effect or input–output relationship represents the dynamic
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behavior of the process, and can be described by a mathematical model.

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The plant input signal caused by the controller unit and physically realized by the
actuator is called control signal and manipulating signal, respectively. Disturbances also
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acting as input signals onto the plant behavior can be either constant or time-varying.
The desired behavior of the plant output signal is usually given by a reference input
signal to the controller. Two basic control structures are available to accomplish the
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control task and will be described briefly in the following.

2.1. Feedforward or Open-Loop Control

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In a feedforward control system (as depicted in Figure 6), the reference signal is directly
processed by the controller. Each setting of the reference input determines the objective
of the control element or controller to achieve, through the actuator, the desired
behavior of the plant output. For properly achieving the goal of control, the controller
must be calibrated precisely and, furthermore, no disturbances or plant variations are
expected to occur. This calibration is necessary for establishing or reestablishing the
input/output relation of the plant to obtain the desired system accuracy.

This control structure is, therefore, only effective in relatively simple situations, in
which disturbances and variations of plant parameters do not influence significantly the
actual plant output. Obviously, in this feedforward control structure, the control action
is completely independent of the actual plant output. The result of the control action,
that is the actual plant output, is not measured. A precise calibration of the controller

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provides a good control action only for the desired reference input, but cannot
compensate for other inputs such as disturbances and parameter changes of the plant. A
major advantage of feedforward control systems is that they are generally not troubled
with problems of instability.

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Figure 6. Block diagram of a feedforward control system

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The application of feedforward control systems is recommended particularly when
measuring the output signal is either difficult or not economically feasible. A typical
example for a feedforward control system is a washing machine, where soaking,
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washing, and rinsing follow a desired time program. The cleanliness of the clothes,
which represents the output variable, is not measured by the machine. Another example
is a traffic control system controlled by traffic lights operating according to a time
program.
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Bibliography

The references provided in the following are only a very small selection of the possible literature
addressing the field of automatic control.
Antsaklis, P. J.; Michel, A. N. 1997. Linear Systems. New York, McGraw-Hill. 670 pp. [This book
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Åström, K.; Wittenmark, B. 1989. Adaptive Control. Reading, Ma: Addison-Wesley Publishing
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Athans, M.; Falb, P. L. 1966. Optimal Control. New York, McGraw-Hill. 879 pp. [This book is a
classical text for introduction to the theory and application of optimal control systems.]
Atherton, D. P. 1982. Nonlinear Control Engineering. New York, Van Nootrand Reinhold. 470 pp. [This

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book introduces classical approaches for designing and analyzing nonlinear control systems.]
Barmish, B. R. 1994. New Tools for Robustness of Linear Systems. New York, Macmillan. 394 pp. [This
book deals with control problems involving structured real parametric uncertainties.]
Bélanger, P. R. 1995. Control Engineering. Fort Worth, Saunders College Publishing. 471 pp. [This text
gives an introduction to control engineering.]
Bendat, J. S.; Piersol, A. G. 2000. Random Data Analysis and Measurement Procedures. New York, John
Wiley. 594 pp. [This book represents a practical reference for working engineers and scientists in the field
of signal processing and system identification.]
Bhattacharyya, S. P.; Keel, L. H. (eds.) 1991. Control of Uncertain Dynamic Systems. Boca Raton, Fl:
CRC Press. 526 pp. [This book is a collection of papers from leading researchers in the area of robust
control.]
Cassandras, C. G.; Lafortune, S. 1999. Introduction to Discrete Event Systems. Dordrecht, Kluwer
Academic Publishers. 822 pp. [This book gives a systematic introduction to the field of discrete event
systems.]

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Cellier, F. E. 1991. Continuous System Modeling. New York, Springer-Verlag. 755 pp. [This book

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introduces the concept of modeling from the physical system itself down to an abstract description in

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form of a mathematical model.]

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Chalam, V. V. 1987. Adaptive Control Systems. New York, Marcel Dekker. 526 pp. [This book covers
the broad spectrum of adaptive control systems.]
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Chen, C. T. 1993. Control System Design. Fort Worth, Saunders College Publishing. 600 pp. [This book
presents an introductory course in control systems.]
Cichocki, A.; Unbehauen, R. 1993. Neural Networks for Optimization and Signal Processing. Chichester,
UK, John Wiley. 526 pp. [This book shows that artificial neural networks can be used effectively for
solving many engineering problems.]
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D’Azzo, J. J.; Houpis, C. H. 1975. Linear Control System Analysis and Design. New York, McGraw-Hill.
636 pp. [This textbook provides a broad introduction to the classical and modern methods of control
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engineering.]
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DiStefano, J. J.; Stubberud, S. R.; Williams, I. J. 1976. Feedback and Control Systems. New York,
McGraw-Hill. 371 pp. [This book presents a comprehensive and concise treatment of the fundamentals of
feedback and linear control systems theory.]
Driankov, D.; Palm, R. (eds.) 1998. Advances in Fuzzy Control. Heidelberg, Physica-Verlag/Springer-
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Verlag Company. 421 pp. [This book concentrates mainly on the model-based design of fuzzy controllers
and their application.]
Driankov, D.; Hellendoorn, H.; Reinfrank, M. 1993. An Introduction to Fuzzy Control. Berlin, Springer-
Verlag. 316 pp. [This book represents a broad and deep introduction to fuzzy control systems.]
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Fairman, F. W. 1998. Linear Control Theory: The State Space Approach. Chichester, UK, John Wiley.
315 pp. [This book provides the background in control theory needed to use control system design
software more productively.]
Forrester, J. W. 1970. World Dynamics. Cambridge, Ma., Wright-Allen Press. 120 pp. [This book tries to
give a perspective for the future developments on the earth during the following 100 years and is based on
simulation studies using a dynamical world model.]
Fortmann, T. E.; Hitz, K. L. 1977. An Introduction to Linear Control Systems. New York, Marcel Dekker.
744 pp. [This text gives an introduction to linear control systems.]
Frank, P. M. (ed.) 1999. Advances in Control. London, Springer-Verlag. 449 pp. [This book contains a
view on current developments and perspectives in theory and practice of automatic control systems.]
Franklin, G. F.; Powell, J. D.; Emami-Naeini, A. 1994. Feedback Control of Dynamic Systems. Reading,
Ma., Addison-Wesley. 778 pp. [This is a widely used introductory textbook.]
Green, M.;Limebeer, D. J. 1995. Linear Robust Control. Englewood Cliffs, N. J., Prentice Hall. 538 pp.

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[The book presents the theory of feedback system analysis, design and synthesis that is able to optimize
the performance and robustness.]
Gupta, M. M., Sinha, N. K. 1996. Intelligent Control Systems: Theory and Applications. New York, IEEE
Press. 820 pp. [This book includes the whole spectrum of theory and application of intelligent control
systems.]
Haber, R.; Keviczky, L. 1999. Nonlinear System Identification. Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. Dordrecht, Kluwer
Academic Publishers. 800 pp. [These books deal especially with parameter identification and structure
identification of nonlinear systems.]
Hager, W. W.; Pardalos, P. M. (eds.) 1998. Optimal Control. Dordrecht, Kluwer Academic Publishers.
513 pp. [The book presents new approaches for solving optimal control problems.]
Henson, M. A.; Seborg, D. E. (eds.) 1997. Nonlinear Process Control. Upper Saddle River, N.J., Prentice
Hall PTR. 432 pp. [This book is intended as an introduction to the design, analysis, and application of
nonlinear control strategies for process systems.]
Isermann, R.; Lachmann, K.-H.; Matko, D. 1992. Adaptive Control Systems. New York, Prentice Hall.
541 pp. [This book provides many details of adaptive control systems for practical applications.]

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Isidori, A. 1995. Nonlinear Control Systems. Berlin, Springer-Verlag. 549 pp. [This book represents an

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introductory textbook for nonlinear multivariable feedback systems.]

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Jamshidi, M. 1983. Large-Scale Systems. Amsterdam, North-Holland/Elsevier Science Publishers B. V.
524 pp. [This book presents a balanced treatment of large-scale systems.]
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Kailath, T. 1980. Linear Systems. Englewood Cliffs, N. J., Prentice-Hall. 682 pp. [This book provides an
introduction to modern control theory.]
King, R. E. 1999. Computational Intelligence in Control Engineering. New York, Marcel Dekker. 295
pp. [This book presents an introduction to computational intelligence, the branch of soft computing which
includes expert systems, fuzzy logic, artificial neural networks and evolutionary computation.]
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Kirk, D. E. 1970. Optimal Control Theory. Englewood Cliffs, N. J., Prentice-Hall. 452 pp. [This book
introduces three facets of optimal control theory: Dynamic programming, Pontryagin’s maximum
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principle, and numerical techniques for trajectory optimization.]

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Krstic, M.; Kanellakopoulos, I.; Kokotovic, P. 1995. Nonlinear and Adaptive Control Design. New York,
John Wiley. 563 pp. [This book opens a view to the largely unexplored landscape of nonlinear systems
with uncertainties.]
Kuo B. C. 1992. Digital Control Systems. Fort Worth, Saunders College Publishing. 751 pp. [This is a
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classical text,book dealing with all aspects of digital control systems.]

Kwakernaak, H.; Sivan, R. 1972. Linear Optimal Control Systems. New York, Wiley-Interscience. 575
pp. [This book is a classical text for optimal control systems).
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Levine, W. S. (ed.) 1996. The Control Handbook. Boca Raton, Fl., CRC Press, Inc. 1548 pp. [This book
covers the broad spectrum of modern and classical control theory and implementations from the sensor
output to the actuator input.]
Lin, C.-F. 1994. Advanced Control Systems Design. Englewood Cliffs, N. J., PTR Prentice Hall. 664 pp.
[This book presents the theory of modern control covering robust control, nonlinear control, and
intelligent control and their applications.]
Linkens, D. A. (ed.) 1993. CAD for Control Systems. New York, Marcel Dekker. 584 pp. [This book
provides a broad spectrum of CAD principles for the computer-aided control systems design.]
Ljung, L. 1999. System Identification. Upper Saddle River, N. J., Prentice Hall PTR. 609 pp. [This book
provides a deep inside into the field of system identification.]
Mayr, O. 1970. The Origins of Feedback Control. Cambridge, Ma., MIT Press. 150 pp. [This text
describes the early developments of feedback control.]
Meadows, D. 1972. The Limits to Growth. New York, Universe Books. 180 pp. [This book was initiated
by the “Club of Rome” and describes the causes and interrelations of critical problems caused by the

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growth of mankind using simulations of a dynamic world model.]

Mutambara, A. G. 1999. Design and Analysis of Control Systems. Boca Raton, Fl., CRC Press. 802 pp.
[This is a widely used modern introductory textbook for control systems.]
Narendra, K. S.; Annaswamy, A. M. 1989. Stable Adaptive Systems. Englewood Cliffs, N. J., Prentice-
Hall. 494 pp. [This book discusses in detail the stability aspects of adaptive control systems.]
Nijmeijer, H.; van der Schaft, A. J. 1990. Nonlinear Dynamical Control Systems. Berlin, Springer-Verlag.
467 pp. [This book gives an introduction to the differential geometric approach for nonlinear control.]
Nise, N. S. 2000. Control Systems Engineering. New York, John Wiley. 970 pp. [This textbook
introduces the theory and practice of control systems engineering.]
Ogata, K. 1987. Discrete-Time Control Systems. Englewood Cliffs, N. J., Prentice Hall. 994 pp. [This is a
standard textbook for digital systems.]
––––. 1990. Modern Control Engineering. Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall. 963 pp. [A widely used
textbook that presents essential principles of classical and modern control engineering.]
Oldenbourg, R.; Sartorius, H. 1944. Dynamics of Automatic Control (in German). Munich, R.

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Oldenbourg-Verlag. 257 pp. [This is one of the first books in which a general theory for continuous and
discrete control systems is given.]

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Omatu, S.; Khalid, M.; Yusof, R. 1995. Neuro-Control and its Applications. Berlin, Springer-Verlag. 255
pp. [This book discusses various types of neuro-control paradigms based on the backpropagation
algorithm.]
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Oppelt, W. 1972. Handbook of Control Engineering (in German). Weinheim, Verlag Chemie. 770 pp.
[This textbook is written for the application-oriented engineer and gives a broad survey on control
engineering problems and solutions.]
Owens, D. H. 1981. Multivariable and Optimal Systems. London, Academic Press. 300 pp.[This book
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provides an introduction to continuous and discrete multivariable system design.]

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Passino, K. M.; Yurkovich, S. 1998. Fuzzy Control. Menlo Park, Ca., Addison-Wesley. 475 pp. [This
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book provides a control-engineering perspective on fuzzy control.]

Patton, J. R.; Frank, P. M.; Clark, R. N. (eds.) 2000. Issues of Fault Diagnosis for Dynamic Systems.
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Berlin, Springer-Verlag. 597 pp. [The book focuses on some new concepts in research and new
application topics in fault diagnosis.]
Phillips, C. L.; Harbor, R. D. 1996. Feedback Control Systems. Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall. 683
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pp. [A classical text for introduction to control systems.]

Pintelon, R.; Schoukens, J. 200. System Identification. New York, IEEE Press. 605 pp. [In this book
frequency-domain representation of data is used for system identification.]
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Polke, M. (ed.) 1994. Process Control Engineering. New York, VCH Publishers. 475 pp. [This book
surveys the methods, tasks and tools of process control engineering.]
Rosenbrock, H. H. 1974. Computer-Aided Control System Design. London, Academic Press. 230 pp.
[This book is devoted to frequency-response and allied methods for the design of single-input/single-
output control systems as well as multivariable control systems.]
Samad, T. (ed.) 2001 Perspectives in Control Engineering. New York, Institute of Electrical and
Electronic Engineers. 503pp. [This book provides a broad review of the state-of-art in control science and
engineering, with particular emphasis on new research and application directions.]
Santina, M. S.; Stubberud, A. R.; Hostetter, G. E. 1994. Digital Control System Design. Fort Worth,
Saunders College Publishing. 797 pp. [This book presents a broad introduction to modern digital control
systems.]
Seborg, D. E.; Edgar, T. E.; Mellichamp, D. A. 1989. Process Dynamics and Control. New York, John
Wiley. 717 pp. [This textbook incorporates process dynamics, computer simulation, feedback control,
measurement and control hardware, advanced control strategies, and digital control techniques.]
Shinners, S. M. 1998. Modern Control System Theory and Design. New York, John Wiley. 720 pp. [This

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book presents a unified treatment of conventional and modern continuous control systems.]
Siljak, D. D. 1978. Large-Scale Dynamic Systems. Amsterdam, Elsevier North-Holland Scientific
Publishers. 416 pp. [The aim of this book is to show the relationship between complexity, stability, and
reliability of large-scale dynamic systems.]
Sinha, N. K.; Rao, G. P. (eds.) 1991. Identification of Continuous-Time Systems. Dortrecht, Kluwer
Academic Publishers. 637 pp. [This book serves as a broad source of information to researchers and
practising engineers.]
Sinha, P. K. 1984. Multivariable Control. New York, Marcel Dekker. 688 pp. [This is a textbook which
introduces systematically to the problems of multivariable control systems.]
Söderström, T.; Stoica, P. 1989. System Identification. New York, Prentice Hall.. 612 pp. [This book
provides a profound understanding of the subject matter as well as the necessary background for
performing research in the field.]
Solodownikow, W. W. 1958. Basics of Automatic Control (in German) Vol. 1. Munich, R. Oldenbourg
Verlag. 727 pp. [This Russian standard textbook presents the whole spectrum of classical automatic
control.]

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Stefani, R. T.; Savant, C. J.; Shahian B.; Hostetter, G. H. 1994. Design of Feedback Control Systems.

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Boston, Saunders College Publishing. 819 pp. [This book provides a broad introduction to classical and

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modern feedback control systems.]
Takahashi, Y.; Rabins, M. J.; Auslander, D. M. 1970. Control. Reading, Ma., Addison-Wesley. 800 pp.
[This book presents control systems on a broad spectrum as well as in depth.]
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Unbehauen, H. 2001. Control Engineering (in German). 3 Vols. Braunschweig, F. Vieweg & Sohn
Verlagsgesellschaft. 1273 pp. [These are widely used textbooks that present the broad spectrum of
classical and modern control systems.]
Unbehauen, H.; Rao, G. P. 1987. Identification of Continuous Systems. Amsterdam, North-
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Holland/Elsevier Science Publishers. 378 pp. [This book shows several advantages in retaining the
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models of real dynamical systems in continuous time-domain.]

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van der Schaft, A. J.; Schumacher, J. M. 2000. An Introduction to Hybrid Dynamical Systems. London,
Springer-Verlag. 174 pp. [This book gives a deep introduction into the field of hybrid dynamical
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systems.]
Wolovic, W. A. 1994. Automatic Control Systems. Fort Worth, Saunders College Publishing. 450 pp.
[This introductory text focusses on the classical and modern design of linear controllers for single-
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input/single-output systems.]
Zhou, K.; Doyle, J. C.; Glover, K. 1996. Robust and Optimal Control. Upper Saddle River, N. J., Prentice
Hall. 596 pp. [This book gives a fairly comprehensive and step-by-step treatment of the state-space
control theory.]
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Zilouchian, A.; Jamshidi, M. (eds.) 2001. Intelligent Control Systems Using Soft Computing
Methodologies, Boca Raton, Fl., CRC Press.472 pp. [This volume constitutes a report on the principal
elements and important applications of soft computing as reported from some of the active members of
this community.]
Some Important Journals
Automatica
European Journal of Control
IEE Proceedings on Control Theory and Applications
IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control
IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology
IEEE Control System Magazin
IEEE Transactions on Robotics and Automation

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International Journal of Control

Some Important Conference Proceedings
IFAC (International Federation of Automatic Control)
CDC Control and Decision Conference (organized by the Institution of Electrical and Electronic
Engineers (IEEE))
ACC (American Control Conference)
ECC (European Control Conference)

Biographical Sketch

Heinz D. Unbehauen is Professor Emeritus at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information
Sciences at Ruhr-University, Bochum, Germany. He received the Dipl.-Ing. degree from the University of
Stuttgart, Germany, in 1961 and the Dr.-Ing. and Dr.-Ing. habil. degrees in Automatic Control from the
same university in 1964 and 1969, respectively. In 1969 he was awarded the title of Docent, and in 1972
he was appointed as Professor of Control Engineering in the Department of Energy Systems at the
University of Stuttgart. Since 1975, he has been Professor at Ruhr-University of Bochum, Faculty of

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Electrical Engineering, where he was head of the Control Engineering Laboratory until February 2001.

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He was dean of his faculty in 1978/9. He has been a visiting professor in Japan, India, China, and the

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USA. He has authored and co-authored over 400 journal articles, conference papers and seven books. He
has delivered many invited lectures and special courses at universities and companies around the world.
His main research interests are in the fields of system identification, adaptive control, robust control,
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control of multivariable systems, neuro-fuzzy control, predictive control, and control of mechatronic
systems. He is Honorary Editor of IEE Proceedings on Control Theory and Application and System
Science, Associate Editor of Automatica, and serves on the Editorial Board of the International Journal of
Adaptive Control and Signal Processing, Optimal Control Applications and Methods (OCAM) and
Systems Science. He also served as associate editor of IEEE-Transactions on Circuits and Systems as well
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as Control-Theory and Advanced Technology (C-TAT). He is also an Honorary Professor of Tongji

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University Shanghai. He has been a consultant for many companies as well as for public organisations,
for example, UNIDO and UNESCO. He is a member of several national and international professional
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organisations and a Fellow of the IEEE.

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©Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS)