Motor Control used to be boring

Abstract

Motor Control may not be as trendy as say IoT, but it cannot be denied that the application areas of late have been much more interesting. The growing popularity of drones, electric vehicles such as the Tesla, mobility vehicles like electric bikes or the allure of hover-boards have seen an explosion of electric motors. But changes are also happening in the more traditional industrial sector of motor and servo drives. The demand for cost and energy efficiency is driving the need for new system topologies and greater integration levels. Devices now have to integrate communications with traditional control. Integrated Safety and Security are now part of the mix. The Motor Control device of today is vastly different then 10+ years ago and the challenges are much greater, requiring a broader set of design skills.