Automatic-Feedback

Control System
System Concept

Using the robot as an example, it is easy to formally introduce

the concept of system. In general, a system can be defined as
follows:

Definition 5.1 A system is a combination of elements which act

together and perform a certain task.

Normally, a system has input and produces output according

to the characteristics of the system's dynamics. In the real
world, however, a system is often subject to noise or
disturbance.
 The internal parameters of a system may also undergo
change as a function of time.

If a system exhibits certain dynamic behaviors, (i.e. the

system's output varies with time when being stimulated by
the system's input or a disturbance), the internal state of
the system can be described by a set of variables.

These variables are called the state variables.

 When a system at rest is stimulated by input or noise, its output
starts to vary. After a certain period of time, it is expected that
the system will reach a new state and be at rest again.

If not, the system is considered to be unstable (i.e. the output

oscillates or converges to infinity). For a stable system, the
output when a system is at rest is called the steady-state
response.

And the output when a system is making the transition from its
initial state into a new state is called the transient response.
 Formally, the steady-state and transient responses of a system
can be defined as follows:

Definition 5.2 The steady-state response of a system is the

input-output relationship when the system is at rest.

Definition 5.3 The transient response of a system is the

input-output relationship when the system is evolving from
an initial state into a new state.
 To a great extent, the study of the design, analysis and control
of a system aims at achieving the desired steady-state and
transient responses.

In fact, the steady-state response directly indicates a system's

absolute stability (i.e. whether a system is stable or not).

And the transient response describes a system's relative

stability (i.e. how smooth a system is evolving to a new state)