A comprehensive set of tools for teaching, learning, and understanding the fundamental concepts of automatic control systems. In all its editions, which have been received with outstanding reviews, the book Control Systems introduces students to the essential concepts of control systems with the most up-to-date knowledge relevant to real case problem-solving.

The book Control Systems is not just a comprehensive theoretical manual but also includes innovative virtual laboratories that replicate real physical systems and sharpen the reader's problem-solving skills. In this tenth edition, the Control Laboratory is presented for the first time, consisting of two categories of experiments: simulations with mathematical models on the computer (SIMLabs) and experiments with real LEGO® robots (LEGOLabs).

These experiments are intended to complement or replace the practical exercises of students in a real laboratory environment and allow them to complete their assignments in the MATLAB® and Simulink® software environments even from their homes. With this cost-effective approach, educational institutions can equip their laboratory spaces with LEGO testing platforms and maximize equipment availability to students at just a fraction of the cost of experimental setups for control systems that are available today.

Alternatively, students can transfer the equipment even to their homes and begin learning at their own pace. THE NEW EDITION CONTINUES THE TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE WITH: More solved examples, online laboratories with LEGO MINDSTORMS® and MATLAB/SIMLab, enhancements to the user-friendly interface software of MATLAB (ACSYS) for controlling LEGO MINDSTORMS equipment, a valuable introduction to the Control Laboratory, a logical organization of the curriculum, with Chapters 1 to 3 covering all prerequisite knowledge and Chapters 4 to 11 presenting all related to the subject matter of control, 10 appendices referring among others to the fundamental knowledge of matrix theory (linear algebra), to the Control Laboratory, to differential equations and basic mathematical principles, as well as a complete set of PowerPoint® slides and solutions for instructors.

The names LEGO and MINDSTORMS are trademarks of the LEGO Group. The names MATLAB and Simulink are trademarks of MathWorks, Inc.

Book Contents:

• Introduction to automatic control systems
• Modeling dynamic systems
• Solving differential equations of dynamic systems
• Block diagrams and signal flow diagrams
• Stability of linear automatic control systems
• Key components of feedback automatic control systems
• Performance of automatic control systems in the time domain
• State space analysis and controller design
• Root locus analysis
• Frequency domain analysis
• Design of automatic control systems

Appendices: Elementary theory and matrix algebra, mathematical principles, Laplace transformation table, properties and construction of root locus geometry, general Nyquist criterion, glossary of basic automatic control terminology.