MIT: Independent Activities Period: IAP

IAP 2017



Quick Intro to Designing Feedback Controllers

Joseph Steinmeyer, Lecturer, EECS, Jacob White, Professor, EECS

Jan/17 Tue 02:00PM-05:00PM 38-530 Circuits Lab, Bring laptop
Jan/18 Wed 02:00PM-05:00PM 38-530 Circuits Lab, Bring laptop
Jan/19 Thu 02:00PM-05:00PM 38-530 Circuits Lab, Bring laptop
Jan/20 Fri 02:00PM-05:00PM 38-530 Circuits Lab, Bring laptop

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/06
Limited to 30 participants
Attendance: Participants must attend all sessions
Prereq: High school-level algebra, some exposure to programming

This course will be a one-week lab-focused introduction to controls focused on discrete time modeling and control of systems using microcontrollers (Teensy3.2 and/or Teensy 3.5/6 ARM development boards) and a number of system artifacts (quadcopter propellers and combinations of propellers, inverted pendulum, etc…).  We’ll be carrying out portions of already-developed and newly-developed lab modules from 6.302 and the 6.302x series we’ve been developing, so in some sense this course is a workshop. There will be some light homework associated with the class (~1 hour per day or less), but we’ll only be working in lab (no lectures) and relying on readings and in-lab discussions for establishing concepts. This on-campus IAP class, the labs will NOT be streamlined or plug-and-play, students should expect a more realistic engineering experience. We are also open to students carrying out mini-projects focused on control within the course if they fit within the goals of the curriculum.  Students should be prepared to work in pairs, be inspired by problems where determining the approach is as important as executing on that approach, and they should be comfortable with simple circuits, basic mechanics, and modifying short programs in C and/or Python.

Contact jodalyst@mit.edu by Jan. 6 to sign up.

Sponsor(s): MIT-SUTD Collaboration, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Contact: Joe Steinmeyer, jodalyst@mit.edu