Implementation of a realistic virtual environment for embedded control systems for machine tools (CNC)

Abstract

This project is a continuation of the academic research developed in Brazil under the same title, at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering - UNICAMP. The project consists in the improvement of technical analysis and development of new controllers, aiming for the improvement and optimization of the virtual environment that is being developed in Brazil. In this purpose, it will be used the entire structure of the laboratory denominated Laboratoire des Signaux et Systèmes, known as L2S, at École Supérieure d'Ééctricité, Supélec. With this structure, the study will be directed to optimize the virtual environment already developed in Brazil in the Integrated Automation and Robotics Laboratory of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering - UNICAMP, and improve the analysis and development of modern controllers, aiming their viability in industrial application. In addition, with Professor Didier Dumur’s orientation, an improvement of the Control Engineering bibliographic study will be developed to improve the understanding of predictive controllers, their derivatives and adaptive controllers as well; both in constant development by Professor Didier Dumur, who is the head of Automation Department at Supélec. In the realistic virtual environment, a new adaptive controller will be implemented in addition to the PID and GPC controllers. Then, a comparative analysis of the controllers will be made, aiming their industrial applicability and potential improvements in research methods. Through these news controllers, it would be possible to verify significant changes that could usefully be applied in practice, improving control, speed and accuracy of practical systems, with an affordable price. Lastly, it will be possible to make a flexible virtual environment to analyze and compare different controllers for different environments, not only the pre modeled and not only industrials environments, making it a great and essential tool to help control engineers in the development and optimization of processes in the workplace. Thus, it will be possible predict the application of various types of controllers, for their use in place of or in conjunction with the old controllers, improving processes and handle to control new processes which currently have a difficult control. So other applications beyond industrial can be analyzed, as the autonomous car control, home automation, mechatronics control of prostheses, etc. (AU)