Web-based Tools for Exact Linearization Control Design

Abstract

This paper deals with exact linearization - a well-known method for nonlinear control design - from a control education point of view. It presents a couple of interactive tools based on Matlab, Simulink and Matlab Web server that serve as easy-to-use control law calculators. Their main purpose is to remove the mathematical burden involved in exact linearization from students' shoulders and make the method easier to understand and to use. According to our belief, this approach - i.e. let computers do the calculations and let students do the reasoning - can be useful also in other cases where mathematics overshadow the contents and the benefits of a particular control design technique