University of Waterloo
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
BME 356, Control Systems
Fall 2022
Course Information
Themes and objectives
The principles of automatic control are employed throughout many branches of engineering:
in analog electronics, feedback makes amplifier gains less sensitive to variations in transistor
parameters, and improves input and output impedances and frequency response; in chemical
and mechanical engineering applications, automatic controllers regulate temperatures, pressures and flow rates against a range of disturbances; robots robustly perform high-speed,
precision manufacturing operations by means of numerous feedback controllers acting in
concert to adjust respective joint angles; autopilots control the altitudes of aircraft and
damp out undesirable oscillations that are difficult or impossible for human pilots to manage; automobiles incorporate computer-based ignition, emission control, braking and cruise
control systems; satellite communications are made possible through the precise orientation
of antennas and satellites.
This course is an introduction to these valuable engineering principles. It concentrates on
the central – and subtle – topic of feedback, and its effects on the key properties of system
stability, accuracy of control, robustness of system behaviour with respect to variation of
system parameters, and the rejection of disturbance inputs.
The same feedback principles are observed in natural systems, including biological organisms. For instance, the key property of homeostasis is based on multiple feedback loops
that allow an organism to regulate its state in the face of changing environmental conditions,
or alterations in its own functioning. An understanding of control-engineering principles is
fundamental to an appreciation of many physiological phenomena.
The mathematical framework of the course is the relatively simple one of linear timeinvariant systems (as seen in BME 252) – in both the time and frequency domains; the main
system model is the transfer-function representation of single-input, single-output systems.
Within this framework, the course develops the elements of so-called “classical” analysis
and design of feedback control systems. Classical control has a practical flavour, admitting
and promoting the use of considerable engineering intuition. While more recent methods
are in some respects more systematic, the techniques of classical control are essential to an
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understanding of the application of feedback, and are important instruments in the control
engineer’s “toolbox.”
Course instructor
J.G. Thistle Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, EIT 3113, tel. ext.
32910, jthistle@uwaterloo.ca.
Teaching assistants
Mahla Parsapour m2parsap@uwaterloo.ca
Reference text (optional)
Dorf, Richard C., and Robert H. Bishop Modern Control Systems. Upper Saddle River,
NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008. (On reserve in the DC Library; any recent edition
will serve equally well.)
Course outline
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2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Chapter
Introduction to feedback control
Review of modelling
Review of transfer function manipulation
Control system configurations
Control system performance
Stability and the Routh-Hurwitz criterion
Design using the root locus
Stability analysis in the frequency domain
Classical frequency-domain design
Pertinent sections of reference
Ch. 1
2.1-2.4
2.5-2.7
4.1-4.6
5.1-5.9
6.1-6.3
7.1-7.6, 10.5,10.7
8.1-8.3, 9.1-9.4
10.1-10.4, 10.8
Course websites
Lecture notes, assignments and assignment solutions will be posted on Learn.
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A piazza class has been created to facilitate the posing of questions on course material.
The Class Signup Link is piazza.com/uwaterloo.ca/fall2022/bme356 .
Assignments
These will be assigned roughly weekly and selected problems will be discussed in tutorials. A
grade will be assigned in order to encourage students to keep up to date; reasonable attempts
at questions will be marked as correct.
Grading scheme
Final examination
60%
Midterm examination 30%
Assignments
10%
It will not be possible to accommodate midterm conflicts. If a student misses the midterm
for a valid reason, the weighting of the midterm grade will be transferred to the exam grade,
which will then count for 90%.
Fair contingencies for emergency remote teaching
We are facing unusual and challenging times. The course outline presents the instructor’s
intentions for course assessments, their weights, and due dates in Fall 2022. As closely as
possible, we will keep to the specified assessments, weights, and dates. To provide contingency for unforeseen circumstances, the instructor reserves the right to modify course topics
and/or assessments and/or weight and/or deadlines with due and fair notice to students. In
the event of such challenges, the instructor will work with the Department/Faculty to find
reasonable and fair solutions that respect rights and workloads of students, staff, and faculty.
COVID-19 contingency planning
Unless in-person instruction is cancelled, students are expected to attend lectures on Tuesdays, from 12:00 - 1:20, and Thursdays, from 10:00 - 11:20, and tutorials on Thursdays, from
11:30 - 12:20 (starting in the second week of class), all in E5 6004.
Students who experience COVID-like illness should self-declare by completing two (2)
forms: the Self-Declared Verification of Illness Form (VIF) on Quest:
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https://uwaterloo.ca/quest/help/students/
how-do-i/self-declare-my-illness-isolation;
and COVID Tracking Within Our UW Community:
https://uwaterloo.ca/campus-wellness/
covid-19-testing-assessment-centre/covid-19-support-and-advice .
Such students should also contact the course instructor as soon as possible.
In the event of a cancellation of in-person instruction, lectures and tutorials will be given
online via MS-Teams at the normally-scheduled times. If the midterm or final examination
cannot be administered in person, it will be administered via Learn. Weightings will remain
the same.
Academic accommodation
Any student who believes that they may be suffering from an academic disability (either
permanent or temporary) should contact AccessAbility Services to arrange for possible accommodation:
https://uwaterloo.ca/accessability-services/
Academic integrity
Academic integrity is expected in all course activities, and offences will be punished in
accordance with University policy. See
www.uwaterloo.ca/academicintegrity.
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