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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON EDUCATION, VOL. 54, NO. 1, FEBRUARY 2011

A Laboratory Testbed for Embedded Fuzzy Control


Smriti Srivastava, Vidya Sukumar, Parampreet Singh Bhasin, Member, IEEE, and Duru Arun Kumar

AbstractThis paper presents a novel scheme called Laboratory Testbed for Embedded Fuzzy Control of a Real Time Nonlinear System. The idea is based upon the fact that project-based
learning motivates students to learn actively and to use their engineering skills acquired in their previous years of study. It also
fosters initiative and focuses students attention on authentic realworld problems. At the same time, it enhances their learning. Students gain hands-on experience and improve their skills in product
development, self-directed learning, teamwork, and project management. There has been a tremendous rise in the popularity of
intelligent control techniques like fuzzy logic for use in industrial
control applications in recent times. These techniques, which were
primarily conceived for nonlinear control applications, are best implemented using embedded controllers, which can use their capabilities to the maximum. While courses in electrical and computer
engineering cover several areas like digital and analog integrated
circuits, microprocessors and control Systems, and process control,
few of these integrate all these areas with focus on the application of
intelligent techniques in real-time systems. Also, there is a growing
need in industry for engineers who can perform software design
and system integration for various applications in embedded control. This paper aims at developing such a practical task as one
of the major projects in the eighth semester of the program offered by the Instrumentation and Control Engineering (ICE) Department of Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology (NSIT), Delhi
University, India, to design a real-time embedded controller implementing an intelligent control technique, fuzzy logic, for control applications. These applications might, for example, be level
control, flow control, or pressure control. The paper discusses an
example of a real-time pressure control system for which a microcontroller-based fuzzy proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller has been simulated and implemented with satisfactory results.
Index TermsFuzzy control, intelligent control, pressure control, real-time system.

I. INTRODUCTION

EY concepts and techniques in the area of intelligent systems and control have been discovered and developed
over the past few decades. While some of these methods have
significant benefits to offer, engineers in the late 90s were often
reluctant to use new intelligent control techniques for several
reasons:
Manuscript received December 24, 2008; revised May 15, 2009 and
September 19, 2009; accepted November 23, 2009. Date of publication
February 05, 2010; date of current version February 02, 2011.
S. Srivastava is with the Instrumentation and Control Engineering Department, Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology (NSIT), New Delhi 110 078, India
(e-mail: smriti@nsit.ac.in).
D. Arun Kumar is with the Humanities Department, Netaji Subhas Institute of
Technology (NSIT), New Delhi 110 078, India (e-mail: duruarun@rediffmail.
com).
V. Sukumar is with School of Electrical Engineering, Georgia Institute of
Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332 USA (e-mail: vidya@gatech.edu).
P. S. Bhasin is with the Connectivity and Broadcast Business Unit, STEricsson, Greater Noida 201 308, India (e-mail: bhasin.parampreet@ieee.org).
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available online
at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TE.2010.2041004

1) There had been a lack of rigorous engineering analysis to


verify, for example, stability properties and performance
characteristics.
2) There had not been enough comparative analysis to determine their advantages/disadvantages relative to conventional methods.
3) The approaches were not widely understood by practicing
engineers.
The relative lack of attention given to the potential for intelligent control in various universities and industries across the
world was cause for some concern at the end of the 20th century,
indicating a definite need for applications-directed research and
education in these areas.
Curricula for control engineering programs have undergone
substantial change in the past 40 years as modern techniques
for analysis and design find their way into college courses. It
is quite natural then that newer technologies such as intelligent
control should be introduced into university curriculaat the
undergraduate as well as at the graduate level. More and more
examples of high-quality control laboratories are appearing in
universities around the world. Also, more and more educators
recognize the importance of a complete educational experience
involving theory and practical.
Around 20002001, in the Instrumentation and Control Engineering (ICE) Department of Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology (NSIT), University of Delhi, India, a need was urgently
feltas the departments name might suggestto make undergraduate students fully conversant with the latest tools in intelligent control, namely fuzzy, neural, and hybrid control. As a result of this, when students graduate and enter industry, they are
already familiar with these intelligent tools, which have been
used in many industries for some time past in products incorporating fuzzy logic or neural networks.
It is not sufficient just to learn enough about technical and
other issues to pass exams; the techniques need to be used in
real situations. This is particularly important in order to emphasize the connections between different aspects of the technology so as to encourage a broad systems view and to illustrate
the practical, technological, and human constraints of solving
real-world problems.
It is known that the application of fuzzy logic is an effective
alternative for any problem where logical inferences can be derived on the basis of causal relationships. As a mathematical
method that encompasses the ideas of vagueness, fuzzy logic
attempts to quantify linguistic terms so the variables thus described can be treated as continuous, allowing the systems characteristics and response to be described without the need for
exact mathematical formulations.
Classical techniques, such as proportional-integral (PI) or
proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control, are widely used
in process or manufacturing industries on account of their
simple structure, their ease of implementation, and the wide
understanding of their tuning techniques by trained operators.

0018-9359/$26.00 2010 IEEE

SRIVASTAVA et al.: LABORATORY TESTBED FOR EMBEDDED FUZZY CONTROL

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When the system is nonlinear though, the PID control action


is slower, sometimes ineffective, and does not provide good
results in conditions of parameter perturbations and system
disturbances. Also, use of PID techniques must be preceded by
derivation of the system model, while intelligent control techniques can be used without obtaining the model of the system
under consideration. In such situations, operator heuristics
become significant and indeed essential to obtain good control action. In industry today, all processes require automatic
control with good performance over a wide operating range, in
addition to simple controller design and implementation [1].
This motivates the implementation of intelligent control techniques, which can directly implement the operator heuristics in
the control action, thereby providing faster and more accurate
results. Among the developed intelligent control techniques,
fuzzy logic control provides a direct methodology to encode
the operators heuristic knowledge into the control strategy
and is therefore a natural choice for nonlinear control action
[2][5]. This technique also has flexibility of implementation,
such as the capability to be implemented as the main controller
in a Direct Expert Control System (DECS) or as an overall
supervisory technique for multiple systems [6][9], with each
system having an independent control action, using linear or
intelligent control methodologies. Several papers have also
proposed laboratory assignments for PC-based implementation
of a fuzzy-logic-controller (FLC) for specific control problems
[1]. However, what remains is to propose a generic method that
best implements the capabilities of a FLC.
Embedded computing is an enabling technology for the engineering of computer systems, which is used in areas such as
command and control, communications and multimedia, and information systems. The principle challenges faced in embedded
computing also constitute their most significant advantages: their
real-time nature, their multidisciplinary characteristic, and their
sophisticated functionality. In a real-time control problem, the
speed and accuracy of the control action becomes critical to the
actual efficiency of the control algorithm. Therefore, it was felt
that implementation of the FLC using an embedded system would
maximize the advantages that thetechniqueoffers over traditional
control strategies. The processing speed of a microcontroller, its
low power consumption, and its low cost and suitability to industrial environments are the additional advantages that such a
system hastoofferto acontrolengineer.Thesystem thusdesigned
is automated and does not require the operator to understand the
control algorithm, thereby reducing the skill-set requirement for
the operator. Successful applications of microcontrollers in control systems have been reported in [10][12].
With the ever-increasing role of embedded systems in control
applications, it is essential to develop a practical course that integrates fuzzy control and embedded systems. In this paper, a laboratory testbed for such an integration is proposed. The project
uses a Matlab platform for designing a mathematical model of
the system and simulating the control technique. Furthermore,
it is ported onto a C platform, to be subsequently implemented
on a microcontroller. The paper is divided into eight sections.
Section II describes the pedagogical issues, while Section III
explains the devised technique. Section IV describes real-time
fuzzy control, and Section V gives an example of a pressure
control system and describes the hardware description and embedded hardware setup used to implement the technique. The

results of this implementation are studied in Section VI along


with the scope of the technique. Section VII gives the evaluation of the project. This section also discusses the organization
of the project. Section VIII gives student evaluations and the
conclusion.
II. PEDAGOGICAL ISSUES
It has become imperative for control engineers to learn about
embedded systems involving intelligent controllers as most of
the manufacturing, process, and power industries are in search of
better controllers than PID controllers. Hence, there is a growing
need in the industry for engineers who can perform software design and system integration for various applications in embedded
control [13], [14]. The best way to learn this is through project
work in the final year of undergraduate study after acquiring the
related basic knowledge through theory courses.
This paper describes the development of a practical task that
integrates fuzzy logic in embedded control systems. This task
henceforth will be referred to as the Major Project, which is
undertaken from the third year to the end of the fourth and final
year of undergraduate studies, in the ICE Department at NSIT,
Delhi University, India. The projects, involving both hardware
and software, give the students hands-on experience and improve their skill in product development. At the same time, students learn about teamwork and project management and their
enthusiasm level rises.
Built into the curriculum of ICE are two in-house training
programs for the students in the second year and third year,
lasting one month each.
Third-semester students are expected to submit a project
report based on Matlab/PsPice/ORCAD. Every year, the Electronics and Communication Department of the Institute holds a
workshop on embedded systems during the summer and winter
vacations, lasting from two to four weeks. This is open to all the
students of the institute. The evaluation of both of the projects is
done as a one-credit assessment. Some courses, such as Fuzzy
logic, System Identification, Operating Systems and Advanced
Microcontrollers, are not offered to undergraduate students.
Those interested are given the option of studying these courses
along with Master of Technology (M.Tech) graduate students
of Process Control as electives. Other core courses in the eighth
semester are Process Control, Computer Control, Nonlinear
and Optimal Control, and Intelligent Instrumentation.
The ICE Department at the institute imposes compulsory
project work, spanning 1.5 years, on senior students before
graduation. The faculty of the department prepares a list of
available projects for students to choose from. Students can
also propose their own projects, which may or may not be
accepted by the department, depending upon their technical
merit. The project is divided into three main stages, spread
over the three semesters. During the first stage, students study
the theoretical aspects of the given project, which includes a
literature review, a well-defined project description, a block
diagram and a flow chart design, and a project-planning chart.
This stage comes in the sixth semester of their study. At the end
of this semester, students submit a report that includes all their
theoretical work. In the second stage, the seventh semester,
they have to submit simulation and schematic diagrams with
the detailed parts list needed to implement the project. In the
third stage, the eighth semester, students proceed to build their

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project, which incorporates the mechanical assembly, circuit


building, programming, and interface. The project also includes
the component, subsystems, and final system tests. The students
submit their final report, including the first- and second-stage
project work.
The main objective of an undergraduate ICE project course
[15] for the students is to apply their theoretical skills in practice
and to design and build an integrated engineering system in a
team environment under time constraints. The experience also
includes developing technical writing and communication skills
through report writing and presentations [16], [17].
Students work in teams to produce the plans, the design documents, a system analysis, a model, and a final report. The teams
of two to four students give an oral presentation to a committee
comprising six or seven faculty members and an external examiner. The ICE Department at NSIT also arranges a 1-h lecture each week in the project class in the sixth and seventh
semesters. These are in the form of weekly seminars in which
design methodologies and project management skills are presented to the students. The seminars also offer students the opportunity to interact with the faculty and discuss their progress
on the project.
Besides enhancing their practical learning experience, the
students also benefit by:
1) gaining practical skills and experience with the equipment;
2) linking theory and practice;
3) gathering, manipulating, and interpreting data;
4) developing problem-solving techniques;
5) increasing their motivation and interest;
6) learning cooperation and teamwork: Students learn to communicate, distribute the workload among them, discuss
problems, and integrate the work;
7) undertaking self-directed learning: As a project may involve multidisciplinary knowledge, they study the unread
topics and seek solutions;
8) experiencing project management: Students organize the
work/job based on the talents of each group member and
manage their progress to a schedule.
In the sixth semester, the seminars/lectures by the faculty for
the project work are based on the following topics:
1) Introduction: Students are given a general description of all
the projects offered by the department. They are then given
two weeks to choose their projects and supervisors.
2) Instrumentation and Control Systems: A general look at
various process/control systems helps the students to have
a clear grasp of the topics.
3) Project Management: The discussion is focused on project
strategy, team building and group dynamics, roles and
responsibilities, time management, leadership skills and
budget allocation, and deadlines for various activities of
the project such as midterm and end-term evaluations.
4) Literature sources and references
In the seventh semester, the following major topics are covered:
1) Design specifications: These include materials, structure,
environment, size, performance and cost, quality and reliability, testing, and market constraints.
2) Simulation: The importance of this is emphasized to the
students; they are instructed to analyze their preliminary
designed model using any simulation tool. They are also

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON EDUCATION, VOL. 54, NO. 1, FEBRUARY 2011

advised to identify and correct problems, if any. They are


encouraged to use Matlab, Labview, and PsPice as simulation tools.
3) Component sources: Various data sheets are presented and
explained so that students can understand component specifications and requirements. The students can use the Internet to find the vendors.
4) Troubleshooting skills: These are taught to the students so
that they can use scopes, multimeters, and function generators to troubleshoot their circuitry.
5) Technical writing: Students are given a complete instruction manual on how to write a project report. Details are
given on how to write the report, which should include an
abstract, introduction, literature review, work, simulation
and results, conclusion, and references. The final report
made by the students is of 60 to 80 pages on the above outlines and includes details of implementation, experimental
work, and result analysis.
6) Presentation skills: Students are taught how to improve
their communication and presentation skills [18].
The Major Project starts in the seventh semester. Students
are expected to register for courses relevant to the project topics,
either as electives or core courses. Some courses, such as Fuzzy
logic, System Identification, Operating Systems, and Advanced
Microcontrollers are not offered to undergraduate students due
to the curriculum and administrative problems. Students interested in these courses are given the option of studying them as
electives, along with graduate students of the Masters program
(Process Control). The other core courses of the eighth semester
in the Bachelors degree program are Process Control, Computer Control, Nonlinear and Optimal Control, and Intelligent
Instrumentation.
III. EMBEDDED FUZZY CONTROL TECHNIQUE
A. Design of Mathematical Model of System
The system for which the control system is to be developed
is first studied and the mathematical model of the system is developed using the TakagiSugeno (TS) model.
1) TS Model: The TS model is a simplified fuzzy model
for nonlinear systems in which the consequent part of the fuzzy
ifthen rules is represented by a linear or nonlinear relationship
between output and input. This provides a crisp output that need
not be defuzzified, making the technique computationally efficient. Therefore, the TS model was selected for developing the
model of the system and controller under study.
Fuzzy modeling is carried out in two broad steps: structure
identification and parameter identification. Structure identification involves the solution of two problems: determining
the system inputs and obtaining the input/output relations.
The second part involves the determination of coefficients in
a functional system model. In a fuzzy model, the parameters
are those of the membership functions of the fuzzy sets. In the
problem under study, the focus is on parameter identification
of the system in order for the model to best track the actual
system [2].
The input to the system is the pressure of the tank T2 as shown
in Fig. 3, while the output obtained at the end of the control
action is the voltage output to be sent to the control valve.

SRIVASTAVA et al.: LABORATORY TESTBED FOR EMBEDDED FUZZY CONTROL

The TS model integrates the fuzzy conditions in the input


space with the functional relationships in the output space. The
model maps fuzzy subsets in the input space to a linear or a
nonlinear relationship of inputs in the output space. The rules
of the TS model are of the following form [19].
is
, then is
.
Ri: if
A linear form of
is as follows:
(1)
defines a locally valid model on the support of the
where
Cartesian product of fuzzy sets constituting the premise parts.
The firing strength of each rule is calculated using
(2)
is the membership function of fuzzy set
.
where
The normalized firing strength for the normalized calculation
or nonnormalized firing strength for the nonnormalized calcu. Each
lation is then multiplied with the output function
pair of
and the corresponding provides a fuzzy rule for
with respect to .
is the input variable fuzzy membership
function for
corresponding to the data point .
can be
any fuzzy membership function, including triangle, trapezoidal,
Gaussian, or other. Here, the Gaussian is used.
The product function is used in the developed mathematical
model, thus simplifying (2) to the form

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and
.
is the desired output,
is the actual output,
is the
number of data samples, and (1 to ) is the number of inputs.
As reduces, the approximation of the system improves, and
therefore, in a SISO system, the mathematical model closely
tracks the actual system. The reason for using the normalized
mean square error is that it provides a universal platform for
model evaluation irrespective of application and target value
specification while selecting an input to the model.
The parameter update formula is

where

(8)
, , and ),
where is any parameter to be learned (i.e.,
and is the th epoch. The gradient descent technique to update
the aforementioned parameters [19] is
(9)
(10)
(11)
(12)
(13)

(3)
The indices , indicate th input and th rule.
The values of
,
, and
are initialized using a fuzzy
curve approach [20]. The weighted normalized value of the
input membership function
for th data is
(4)

The normalized form of overall output of TS model is


(5)

or
(6)
where is the output, is the number of rules, and is the total
number of inputs. is the value of the membership function,
and is the normalized membership function.
,
, and
are the parameters of the system model.
Learning Algorithm: For tuning the fuzzy parameters, the
objective function
chosen is the normalized mean square
error, as described by (8).
The following form is assumed for :
(7)

(14)

IV. REAL-TIME FUZZY CONTROL


Once the plant model is identified, a controller must be designed that can control the parameters of the plant. As before,
the TS model of fuzzy control is used to implement the control
algorithm on the mathematical model of the system. The error,
the change in error, and the integral of the error of the system
variable are fuzzified and taken as inputs to the controller. Each
of the inputs was divided into four fuzzy sets. The number of
rules was taken to be equal to that of fuzzy sets. The block diagram of the control scheme is shown in Fig. 1, whereas the
control algorithm is summarized as shown in Fig. 2. Both the
design of the mathematical model and the simulation of the controller are implemented on a Matlab platform, which provides
excellent simulation capabilities to test the efficiency of the controller.
A. Conversion of Matlab Code to C Code
The Matlab-based algorithm, after testing, must be converted
to a C-language-based algorithm so that it can be implemented
on the selected microcontroller. C was selected for this purpose
because it is a generic platform that can be used for any microcontroller implementation. The conversion from Matlab to
C is done using the mcc functionality available on the Matlab
platform (ver. 8.0 and above). The code thus obtained is found
to have satisfactory efficiency.

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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON EDUCATION, VOL. 54, NO. 1, FEBRUARY 2011

Fig. 1. Control system block diagram.

Fig. 2. Control algorithm. FLC: Fuzzy logic controller. mf: Membership functions. SP: Set point.

B. Selection of Microcontroller
Following the code conversion, the appropriate microcontroller [21], [22] should be selected for the control problem
under study. This is an important task that tests the students understanding of different microcontrollers and their capabilities.
The design of an embedded computer system involves compromises between memory usage of the application code, power
consumption of the module, processor speed, algorithm complexity, use of modern sensor and actuator technologies, and
cost of hardware and software components. All these factors
must be balanced against the overall cost of the device to come
to the best possible solution. This may vary from problem to
problem and with changing environments for the same problem.
Once the microcontroller has been selected, the additional
components that may be required must be interfaced with the
central controller in order to develop the complete hardware design. The complete system is then interfaced with the system
under study to maintain the controlled variable at a desired set
point. Error detection capabilities and warning signals may be
additionally included in the system thus designed.

connection is made through a control valve, which is to be regulated using a fuzzy-logic-based controller. The computer sends
electrical signals according to the control strategy, which is sent
to an electronic-to-pneumatic (E/P) converter connected to the
valve. This generates corresponding pressure signals of 4 to 20
mA, converted into 3 to 15 psi, which are subsequently used to
open or close the valve as desired. Real-time systems are also
marked by disturbances, which need to be considered while devising the control strategy [13]. In this system, a manual valve
is connected to the tank, which is randomly opened or closed in
order to simulate disturbances. For the sake of clarity, the block
diagram of the system under study is shown in Fig. 4.
The system contains several nonlinearities like backlash, friction, hysteresis in the control and manual valves, and inherent
delays in different parts of the system.

V. EXAMPLE: PRESSURE CONTROL SYSTEM

B. Design of Mathematical Model of System


The mathematical model of the system was developed using
the TS model discussed in Section III. The input/output data
was obtained from the system by measuring the pressure level
in the tank at varied levels of opening or closing of the valve and
with varied disturbances.

A. Description of Pressure Control System


The pressure control system under study is shown in Fig. 3.
It consists of a tank containing compressed air (henceforth referred to as T1). This is connected to a second tank (henceforth
referred to as T2) in which air pressure is to be controlled. The

C. Simulation of Real-Time Fuzzy Control


The designed fuzzy controller was implemented in Matlab
and tested on the mathematical model of the plant in order to
calculate the controller coefficients. PID control was also applied on the model to compare and contrast the capabilities of

SRIVASTAVA et al.: LABORATORY TESTBED FOR EMBEDDED FUZZY CONTROL

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Fig. 3. Pressure control system.


Fig. 5. MSE using fuzzy control with disturbance.

Fig. 4. Block diagram of pressure control system.

the two methods with respect to the time taken to achieve the
desired set point and the ability of the controller to return to the
desired set point on the occurrence of parameter perturbations
and disturbances. The parameter of the model was perturbed at
the 50th iteration.
Figs. 5 and 6 show the plot of mean square error (MSE)
versus number of iterations obtained using a fuzzy-controlled
and a PID controller, respectively. Once the performance index
is minimized, a disturbance of the order of 5% of the input is introduced in the system, and the response of the system is studied.
It can be seen that the fuzzy-controlled system has a smaller settling time, less than 10 iterations, while the PID controller takes
almost 50 iterations to do the same. On the introduction of a
disturbance on the 50th iteration, the fuzzy controller nullifies
its effect within the next two or three iterations, while the PID
controller takes almost 20 iterations to do the same. This clearly
indicates the robustness of the fuzzy system as compared to the
PID based system.
From the above analysis, it can be observed that the fuzzy
controller is more suited to controlling the system under study
than is a classical PID controller; hence, fuzzy control technique
was selected for the pressure control system [23].
D. Real-Time Implementation of Fuzzy Controller
1) PC-Based Design: A computer-based fuzzy controller
was initially developed for the pressure plant based on the previous analysis. This step may be skipped for faster testing and
implementation of the algorithm, and the student may proceed

Fig. 6. MSE using PID control with disturbance.

directly to the microcontroller implementation discussed in the


next section. However, this provides a more accurate analysis of
the proposed controller design and its feasibility for the system
under study and is therefore discussed here.
The designed control software [24] was to be interfaced with
the hardware. Since Matlab was the platform used to develop the
software previously, the hardware interface was also achieved
through the same tool for simplicity. Matlab has an additional
capability of easily interfacing several types of data acquisition
(DAQ) cards, which could then be used to complete the control
loop between the plant and the controller. All the DAQ cards
used in the design are manufactured by M/S Advantech [25],
[26].
The cards/modules used in the interface are the ADAM
4014D, the ADAM 4520, and the PCL-726.
2) Hardware Description: ADAM 4014D: This card uses a
16-bit microprocessor-controlled sigma-delta A/D converter to
convert sensor readings into digital data. It also offers signal
conditioning, data display, ranging and high-low alarm status,
and RS-485 digital communication functions. It has two digital
output and one digital input channels.

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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON EDUCATION, VOL. 54, NO. 1, FEBRUARY 2011

Fig. 7. System block diagram.

ADAM 4520: This card is used to perform line-to bus and


bus-to line conversion, i.e., switch between RS 232 and RS 485
protocols of data communication.
PCL-726: This card provides six analog output channels on
a single PC bus add-on card, thus performing digital-to-analog
conversion.
3) Hardware Setup: The pressure of T1 is initially raised by
using a compressor connected to it via a manual valve. The pressure of this source can be measured using the analog meter connected with it, which displays the value in psi and SI units. The
connection between T1 and T2 consists of a manual valve, followed by a pneumatic-controlled valve. The pressure of T2 can
also be measured by an analog meter as in the case of T1. Also
connected to T2 is an ADAM 4014D data acquisition module,
which provides the pressure reading in digital form. The module
digitizes the sensor voltage and current data and has provision
for its transmission using RS-485 protocol. This is subsequently
connected to an ADAM 4020 RS485/RS432 converter, which
allows the data to be received via the serial port of the computer.
The control algorithm implemented in the computer then
compares this pressure input with the desired set point and
computes the desired opening or closing of the pressure to
close control valve. The PCL-726 DAC card is used to channel
the digital data of the computer (within range 05 V) to the
analog electrical input of the electronic 760 E/P converter
connected to the control valve in a loop current form. The E/P
converter can operate in an input current range of 4 to 20 mA
with an output between 3 and 15 psi. Therefore, the controller
output is designed to operate in this voltage range. The E/P
converter appropriately applies or reduces pressure on the valve
as per the current input. This changes pressure in T2, which is
fed once again to the controller. This way, the pressure in tank
T2 is regulated. Fig. 7 shows the block diagram of the hardware
scheme.
VI. OBSERVATIONS
The aforementioned design was implemented on the plant,
and the designed system was studied for several set points, with
respect to minimization of the MSE as a performance index of
the system. The robustness was tested by providing an impulse
disturbance of random magnitude and studying the time taken
for the controller to nullify this effect. Parameter perturbation
was tested in software by introducing a spike in the plant parameters in random fashion.
It can be inferred from the result that the controller performs
in a satisfactory manner with regard to achievement of the set
point in a few iterations, as well as returning the system to the
predefined set point upon the introduction of a disturbance or a
parameter perturbation in the system. However, the time taken to

achieve this control action was of concern since the processing


time of the Matlab-based controller was of the order of 3 s per iteration. Matlab provided several simulation advantages, but its
processing time was felt to be a drawback in real-time implementation of the algorithm. Therefore, a controller design on an
embedded system is proposed here, which could be dedicated
to this function and would be able to give the desired output at
a much faster rate. The same algorithm could be ported onto a
microcontroller and interfaced with the appropriate hardware to
perform the requisite control action. The embedded controller
provided the additional advantage of reducing cost and power
requirements for the entire system by a significant amount.
A. Embedded Hardware Setup
The core of the embedded system controller is an Atmega8
microcontroller from the AVR series of Atmel. This is a
high-performance, low-power 8-bit microcontroller with features like advanced RISC architecture, high endurance, and
easy programmability through the serial port, USART and SPI
serial interface, and 8-bit A/D converter. The pressure value in
voltage form is obtained through the serial port as before, using
the ADAM modules. The control algorithm is ported onto a
C platform and loaded onto the microcontroller through serial
programming using the Win AVR and Megaload software,
which are available as Open Source. Provision is also provided
for externally storing the set point and reading pressure inputs
on an interfaced LCD. The output voltage calculated as per the
algorithm is in a digital form. This is passed through an 8-bit
D/A converter, implemented using an R-2R ladder network
connected to the controller. Since the controller works at 5 V,
the output of the D/A converter is in the range of 05 V.
However, this needs to be converted to the industrial standard
of 420 mA current loop operation, which is achieved using a
voltage-to-current converter, implemented using an operational
amplifier. The circuitry for the R-2R network was used to
design the ladder network, and the Opamp Circuit was used
for voltage to current converter. The system block diagram is
shown in Fig. 8, while the embedded hardware setup is shown
in Fig. 9.
The controller thus designed is implemented on the real-time
system for several set points, and its performance is studied,
once again, with respect to the time taken for the system to
settle, as well as the response of the system to any disturbance
or parameter perturbation. Fig. 10 shows a typical response of
the system for a predefined set point and with an impulse disturbance introduced randomly. The faster the response of the
system, the lesser is the number of iterations it can complete
in a given time, and therefore, the faster the set point can be
achieved. It was observed that the controller completed a single
iteration in approximately 500 ms, as compared to 3 s taken by
the Matlab-based controller.

SRIVASTAVA et al.: LABORATORY TESTBED FOR EMBEDDED FUZZY CONTROL

21

Fig. 8. System block diagram.

Fig. 9. Embedded hardware setup.

It can be inferred from Fig. 10 that the settling time of the


system closely tracks the set point and attains that in approximately 60 iterations, i.e., 30 s. When a disturbance is introduced
at the 260th iteration, the controller responds quickly to counter
the effect of the disturbance, minimizing the performance index
readily in fewer iterations.
VII. PROJECT EVALUATIONS AND EFFECTIVENESS
The project evaluation was carried out in three stages. Students are expected to make one presentation at the end of the
sixth semester, which is worth one credit, and two presentations in the seventh semester, worth one credit each. At the
end of seventh semester, they have to submit a short report on
the progress of their work and their future plan for work to
be carried out during the last semester. Two presentations are
held in the last semester, worth five credits. At the end of the
eighth semester, each group is assessed on their original contributions and report writing. Each student is asked to describe
his or her own contribution toward the project. The assessment
of the group work is conducted through PowerPoint presentations where each student has to speak about the work he or
she did throughout the year. A team of six to seven examiners
and an external examiner evaluate the projects. Each member
of the committee separately fills out an evaluation form. The
final grade is a weighted average of all the evaluations. The
grading for the evaluations is divided as follows: literature review (10 points), technical report writing (20 points), design
and engineering approach/problem analysis (25 points), implementation, simulation and results (25 points), project presentations/conclusions (20 points). The project scheme has been
modified recently due to problems encountered during earlier
student performance evaluations, including:
1) poor report writing by the students;

2) poor presentation skills because there had only been one


midterm evaluation;
3) inadequate knowledge of the subject;
4) nonavailability of components due to shortage of time;
5) inadequate interaction between the supervisor and project
group.
Instead of a one-year period devoted to completing their
Major Project, it was proposed that there should be a 1.5-year
duration for this eight-credit project work. Table I shows a
comparison between the performance grades of two groups
of projects in the two academic years. Group A includes
10 projects completed within one year with no lecture support,
while Group B includes 10 projects completed in 1.5 years
and with regular lectures held on the topics discussed above.
The percentages indicate the overall improvement in their
performance.
VIII. STUDENT SURVEY
A survey was conducted to obtain feedback from the students after completion of their degree course. The majority of
students (70%) were satisfied with this course Major Project
IC415 (course title and code). Also, 55% of the students
thought that this course helped them to develop valuable generic
attributes (research skills, communication skills, leadership
qualities, group-working skills, time management, and so on).
The project-based courses were found to be more interesting
and appealing than routine lab work because they motivated
students to learn and understand.
The lectures were well attended and appreciated by most of
the students (85%). They wanted to have more lectures on industrial organization and managerial economics, as well as a
few other technical topics such as the microcontroller.
For continuous upgrading and quality improvement of
schemes related to the project work, a feedback-based evaluation system is used. The form contains several questions; some
of the more important ones are:
1) Were you given complete facilities for the project?
2) Was the time to complete the project sufficient?
3) Was the laboratory where you worked open during off
hours?
4) Was the lab staff supportive?
5) Did you miss any course which you think should be included in the syllabus either as core or elective?
6) Were your supervisors supportive, helpful, and enthusiastic
toward the project?
7) Did the examiners in the evaluation process adopt a balanced approach?

22

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON EDUCATION, VOL. 54, NO. 1, FEBRUARY 2011

TABLE I
COMPARISON BETWEEN TWO PROJECT GROUPS

% Improvement is (Group B-Group A)/Group A

The projects should be based on market requirements,


which can be accessed through industry connections.
A database should be created for all completed projects.
The departments should keep the record of all the projects
done in the department.
A. Contributions

Fig. 10. MSE using embedded fuzzy control with disturbance.

8) Did you benefit from the lecture taken for improving the
interpersonal and group-working skills?
On an average, 80% of the enrolled students filled in the feedback forms. They made the following observations.
On the prerequisite subjects, some of the students (15%) said
that prior learning based on the courses taught in the first and
second year did not adequately prepare them to carry out their
Major Project and that courses like Adaptive Control, Fuzzy
& Neural Control Digital Signal Processing, Intelligent Control,
and Advanced Microcontrollers should be added to the syllabus,
at least as electives.
Regarding the time allocated to the project work, about 88%
of the students were very involved and enthusiastic about the
project work.
As far as lectures were concerned, about 80% of the students
were very positive and wished to increase the number of lectures
on various other topics such as time management, inflation, balance sheets, and hardware-software co-design [27].
These points have been noted by the department and are under
consideration.
Recommendations and suggestions made by students are the
following:
Experts from various industries should be invited from
time to time in order to share their views on the projects.
Industries should be allowed to go through the projects
and implement the completed projects if required. There
should be a frequent industryinstitute interaction.

There are several contributions of the paper:


1) The paper shows the integration of hardware and software,
which is a significant achievement for a group of four students at the undergraduate level.
2) The Matlab code was ported onto a C platform, which is a
prerequisite for a microcontroller to work.
3) The fuzzy logic controller was implemented using a microcontroller. The system becomes a standalone one where
a PC is not required. The fuzzy logic program is being
burnt into the microcontroller before the actual control
takes place.
4) The overall cost of the fuzzy embedded system is very low,
around $8.
B. Conclusion
The testbed thus proposed has several advantages. Since the
code has been ported onto a C platform, it is controller-independent and has the advantage of being implemented using a PC or
any microcontroller, depending upon the system requirements.
This advantage makes this technique practically feasible under
several conditions. In addition, there is a significant reduction
in the cost of the controller. The designed system brings about
large-scale integration into a single unit that caters to problems
of a specific domain. The low-cost embedded control system
provides students with a hands-on environment to develop fundamental skills in the design and implementation of embedded
computer systems. Last but not least, the proposed set up allows a student to integrate his or her knowledge of different
domains like analog and digital integrated circuits, microprocessors, control systems, process control, and so on in order to
solve different control problems like level, flow, and pressure
control using a generic universal technique.
The latest research has shown that laboratory work greatly
increases students understanding. Such practical work develops
students toward the following learning goals [28]:
1) gaining practical skills and experience with equipment;

SRIVASTAVA et al.: LABORATORY TESTBED FOR EMBEDDED FUZZY CONTROL

23

2) linking theory and practice;


3) gathering, manipulating, and interpreting data;
4) forming and testing hypotheses;
5) developing problem-solving techniques;
6) becoming motivated and enthusiastic.
An integrated project with Matlab software using all the
above-mentioned courses was developed at NSIT, New Delhi,
India, by VIII Semester Instrumentation and Control Engineering students so as to fulfill the requirements for eight
credits toward their degrees.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to thank Netaji Subhas Institute of
Technology, New Delhi, India, for supporting this research.
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Smriti Srivastava received the B.E. degree in electrical engineering and the
M.Tech. degree in heavy electrical equipment from Maulana Azad College of
Technology [now Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT)],
Bhopal, India, in 1987 and1991, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree in intelligent
control from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India, in 2005.
From 1988 to 1991, she was on the faculty of MANIT, and since August
1991, she has been with the Department of Instrumentation and Control Engineering, Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, Delhi University, New Delhi,
India, where she is currently the Associate Head of the department and holds
the rank of Assistant Professor. She has a number of publications in journals
and conferences in the area of neural networks, fuzzy logic, and control systems. She has given a number of invited talks and tutorials mostly in the area of
fuzzy logic, process control, and neural networks. Her current research interests
include neural networks, fuzzy logic, and hybrid methods in modeling, identification, and control of nonlinear systems.
Vidya Sukumar received the B.E. degree in instrumentation and control engineering from Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, New Delhi, India, in 2008.
She is currently a graduate student in electrical and computer engineering at
the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, where she is specializing in computer engineering. She is working on thermal modeling techniques and challenges at the micro-architecture and circuit level and has previously worked in
the area of bioinstrumentation and control for assistive devices.
Parampreet Singh Bhasin (S07M09) received the B.E. degree (First Class
with Distinction) in instrumentation and control engineering from Netaji Subhas
Institute of Technology, Delhi University, New Delhi, India, in 2008.
He is currently working with ST-Ericsson India Pvt. Ltd., Greater Noida, as
a Software Engineer with a focus on wireless technologies (WLAN and Bluetooth). Previously, he worked with National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi,
India, as an intern for over two years, working on low-cost embedded solutions
in the healthcare domain. He is interested in embedded systems, control systems, and wireless technologies.
Duru Arun Kumar was born on July 18, 1957, in Ajmer, India. She received
the Ph.D. degree in sociology of science from Mumbai University, Mumbai,
India, in 1990.
Currently, she is a Senior Lecturer at Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology,
New Delhi, India. Her major fields of study are the pursuit of science research,
technical education, and globalization in India.

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