Keep fighting, boys and girls from automation 🤖

map of control theory v5

In the Internet, the word 'full-stack' is very hot. It means 'front end' plus 'back end' mainly for web software developer. We students studing automation should also learn hardware. So we are 'software' plus 'hardware' and 'strong electricity' plus 'weak electricity'.

I am learning Automation in NJUPT and I am going to graduate. So I want to spend some time to look back on what I have learnt in my university as an automation student.

Timeline of my learning of Automation

First, we learn some Mathematics

  • Advanced Mathematics: we learn some calculus and math, I think integral transformation is the most important part for understanding some classical control theory
  • Linear Algebra and Analytic Geometry: Modern Control theory use State Space Equation and we need Linear Algebra to analyse it.
  • Probability and Statistics: Many AI algorithm use Probability principles

Then we learn Control theory

  1. Classic Control Theory: analyse linear time-invariant(LTI) system and mainly use transfer function
  2. Modern Control Theory: analyse multi-variable, non-linear, time-variantsystem and mainly use state space equation
  3. Intelligent Control：a class of control techniques that use various artificial intelligence computing approaches like neural networks, Bayesian probability, fuzzy logic, machine learning, reinforcement learning, evolutionary computation and genetic algorithms.

we learn most technology for designing and making a control system.

close loop control system

  • To detect the signal, we learn Sensor Technology;
  • To process the signal, we learn signals & Systems;
  • To design a Controller, we learn
    • we implement simple control rule with electronic circuit, we learn circuits, Analog Electronic Circuits, digital Electronic Circuits, FPGA and basis Experiment of Electrotechnics and Electronic.
    • we implement complex control rule with microprocessor. We learn Microcomputer Principle and Interface Technology(x86) and some specific processor like PLC and Embeded processor (C51 and ARM) in Embeded System and Application
    • When use microprocessor, we learn Computer Control system for using discrete digital controllor to control a continuous process and learn some programming language like C language to implement the control rule.
  • To design the Actuator and use the control result to control the object
    • To control motor we learn Basis of Electrical Machine and Drives and Motion Control Systems
    • To control continuous production processes, we learn Process Control
    • To control the power for executor, we learn Power Electronics

For design a more intelligent control system, we learn:

  • Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Reinforce Learning
  • Big Data, Data Mining, Data Science...

map of AI

Prospect on Automation

Many people recommend us to persue a mater's degree because as a bachelor, we learn many but we can't learn all of the subjects we need to learn well.

If we want to find a job, we can do software engineer, hardware engineer, robotic engineer.

Writing after some depression of being rejected from persuing master's degree

We human beings learning Control Theory to help our industry works more efficiently and make more fortune.

I hope we human beings can never be controlled by some simple rules, be evaluated with many criteria and be optimized for the performance.

References