An alternative laboratory package for teaching control engineering

Abstract

One of the ways to enlighten the students understanding on control theory is through practical laboratory experiments. Numerous diverse practical demonstrations and laboratory sessions exist for supplementing control theory. However, to fully understand these control theories through laboratory experiments would be impossible as the time needed would be too long and would not fit in the course curriculum. Using the technology of virtual instrumentation, we have developed a laboratory package to be used in the teaching of control engineering subject. The package covers topics for undergraduate students as well as post graduate students. The laboratory package features both simulated experiments and real time experiments. Results on the study of the effectiveness of the laboratory package has shown that students using this package are able to complete their laboratory experiments faster than those who do not use the package. In addition to that the students using the package obtained higher grades, demonstrating their deep understanding of the subject.