Katarina Zakova

SciLab Based Remote Control of Thermo-Optical Plant

The paper deals with the web-based implementation of the control system of a thermo-optical plant. The control of the plant is based on the SciLab software which originally is not designed for web-based applications. The paper shows a possible way to circumvent this limitation. The ultimate goal is to enable remote controlled experiment using SciLab. The paper also describes possible tools for communication and control of the real plant and visualization of results.

Using SciLab for building of virtual lab

The paper shows one way how to use the SciLab software in the Internet environment. Such extension of its functionality (SciLab is originally oriented to local installations) opens new possibilities for building virtual laboratories based on the given software. The introduced solution is based on the developed client-server architecture and on the socket communication. The method is illustrated on the control of the hydraulic system.

Online use of OpenModelica via web service

The paper introduces the web service implemented in PHP and Python programming language for OpenModelica simulation software. It can be later used for building web applications that need to solve some mathematical tasks or to execute simulations for their running. The example of such implementation is also shown.

A contribution to remote control of inverted pendulum

The paper presents two approaches that can be used for remote control of a given technological equipment. We devoted our attention to the control of the inverted pendulum plant that represents a typical nonlinear system used as a benchmark in control education at many universities. The first approach is based on building the client-server application that connects .NET technology and Macromedia Flash format. In the second case the Java client-server application was created. The application combines the created graphical user interface with the Matlab engine running on the server.

Node.js based remote control of thermo-optical plant

The paper demonstrates remote control of the educational laboratory thermo-optical plant. Although this problem has already been addressed several times, there are always new technologies and therefore the approach to the remote experiments gradually changes. In this case the whole application, i.e. both client and server part, was built in JavaScript language and Node.js library.

Online design of Matlab/Simulink and SciLab/Xcos block schemes

The paper presents a new tool that supports building of online simulation schemes for online laboratories. The structure of schemes is compatible with Matlab®/Simulink® or SciLab/Xcos environment. The paper is also dedicated to the comparison of both considered environments and to the pointing out differences and similarities of their use.

Simple experiment integration into modular online laboratory enviroment

The paper contributes to the area of remote laboratories. It describes an implementation of a particular remote laboratory system and reviews its design and key features. The paper discusses several adopted technologies and the motivation behind their use. To emphasize the advantages of a modular remote laboratory application, the paper illustrates the process of adding a new remote experiment by connecting a real device to the system. This process is broken down into several steps and each is explained in more detail. The paper concludes with a rundown of other additional features which increase the overall user-friendliness of this web application.

Mobile application for remote control of thermo-optical plant

Paper demonstrates remote control of thermo-optical plant via Android based mobile application. The user can run the experiment in an open or closed loop. The plant control is realized via predefined PID controller whose parameters can be changed. Another possibility is to use own customized controller whereby the control algorithm has to be defined using the syntax of SciLab environment that is running in background of the whole experiment.

Maxima - An open alternative for engineering education

The aim of the article is to present a new possible way of an interactive teaching. The effort is to substitute proprietary software that is commonly used in educational process by open technologies. Since the subject of this article is oriented to the engineering area we devoted our attention to open software and we chose Maxima. Moreover, this tool can be available not only locally on the desktop computer or the notebook but also online via Internet. In the paper we also introduce examples of the implementation.

Web application to the simplest robust controller design

The paper discusses online course materials used in the training for the simplest robust controller. It has been proposed for the plant that can be represented by simple gain and dead time. The controller design is realized by choosing appropriate model parameters and and by specifying the disturbance observer filter characterized by its order and by the time constant. All parameters have to be estimated in such a way that the loop will offer the fastest possible dynamics of the set-point and disturbance responses in a considered range of the plant parameter values. In order to help practitioners, engineers or other interested users to set the controller parameters optimally, a web application has been created. The interactive design procedure is required to see impact of an estimate of the uncertainty intervals for the dominant uncertain plant parameter on the controller parameter values. The user can e.g. choose the order of considered filters and then, by using slider, the analyzed plant parameter (gain or dead time) and to see the consequence of this choice (measured e.g. by integral criteria). This approach enables to better understand the controller influence on the loop performance.