Defining common aspects of undergraduate instructional laboratories for control systems

Course objectives, like research objectives or product requirements, help provide clarity and direction for everyone involved. Unfortunately, course and instructional laboratory objectives are not always clearly stated. Without a clear set of objectives, it can be hard to design course materials and determine if students are achieving the intended outcomes of the course or laboratory. This study seeks to define a common set of laboratory objectives, concepts, and components of a laboratory apparatus for undergraduate control systems instructional laboratories. A group of control systems faculty, from a variety of institutions, completed a multi-round survey in order to bring them toward consensus on the common aspects of their laboratories. While there will be variation between control systems courses and laboratories, defining the common aspects will form a basis of comparison for experiments and equipment going forward. These common aspects can also be used as a guide to develop new equipment and experiments with wide applicability, which will aid in sharing and reapplication at other institutions.