Lead–lag compensatorA lead–lag compensator is a component in a control system that improves an undesirable frequency response in a feedback and control system. It is a fundamental building block in classical control theory. Lead–lag compensators influence disciplines as varied as robotics, satellite control, automobile diagnostics, LCDs and laser frequency stabilisation. They are an important building block in analog control systems, and can also be used in digital control. Given the control plant, desired specifications can be achieved using compensators.
Time–frequency analysisIn signal processing, time–frequency analysis comprises those techniques that study a signal in both the time and frequency domains simultaneously, using various time–frequency representations. Rather than viewing a 1-dimensional signal (a function, real or complex-valued, whose domain is the real line) and some transform (another function whose domain is the real line, obtained from the original via some transform), time–frequency analysis studies a two-dimensional signal – a function whose domain is the two-dimensional real plane, obtained from the signal via a time–frequency transform.
Matrix normIn mathematics, a matrix norm is a vector norm in a vector space whose elements (vectors) are matrices (of given dimensions). Given a field of either real or complex numbers, let be the K-vector space of matrices with rows and columns and entries in the field . A matrix norm is a norm on . This article will always write such norms with double vertical bars (like so: ).
Linear time-invariant systemIn system analysis, among other fields of study, a linear time-invariant (LTI) system is a system that produces an output signal from any input signal subject to the constraints of linearity and time-invariance; these terms are briefly defined below. These properties apply (exactly or approximately) to many important physical systems, in which case the response y(t) of the system to an arbitrary input x(t) can be found directly using convolution: y(t) = (x ∗ h)(t) where h(t) is called the system's impulse response and ∗ represents convolution (not to be confused with multiplication).
Variable-frequency oscillatorA variable frequency oscillator (VFO) in electronics is an oscillator whose frequency can be tuned (i.e., varied) over some range. It is a necessary component in any tunable radio transmitter and in receivers that works by the superheterodyne principle. The oscillator controls the frequency to which the apparatus is tuned. In a simple superheterodyne receiver, the incoming radio frequency signal (at frequency ) from the antenna is mixed with the VFO output signal tuned to , producing an intermediate frequency (IF) signal that can be processed downstream to extract the modulated information.
Step responseThe step response of a system in a given initial state consists of the time evolution of its outputs when its control inputs are Heaviside step functions. In electronic engineering and control theory, step response is the time behaviour of the outputs of a general system when its inputs change from zero to one in a very short time. The concept can be extended to the abstract mathematical notion of a dynamical system using an evolution parameter.
Signal-flow graphA signal-flow graph or signal-flowgraph (SFG), invented by Claude Shannon, but often called a Mason graph after Samuel Jefferson Mason who coined the term, is a specialized flow graph, a directed graph in which nodes represent system variables, and branches (edges, arcs, or arrows) represent functional connections between pairs of nodes. Thus, signal-flow graph theory builds on that of directed graphs (also called digraphs), which includes as well that of oriented graphs.
Game controllerA game controller, gaming controller, or simply controller, is an input device or input/output device used with video games or entertainment systems to provide input to a video game. Input devices that have been classified as game controllers include keyboards, mouses, gamepads, and joysticks, as well as special purpose devices, such as steering wheels for driving games and light guns for shooting games. Controllers designs have evolved to include directional pads, multiple buttons, analog sticks, joysticks, motion detection, touch screens and a plethora of other features.
Mathematical optimizationMathematical optimization (alternatively spelled optimisation) or mathematical programming is the selection of a best element, with regard to some criterion, from some set of available alternatives. It is generally divided into two subfields: discrete optimization and continuous optimization. Optimization problems arise in all quantitative disciplines from computer science and engineering to operations research and economics, and the development of solution methods has been of interest in mathematics for centuries.
GameCube controllerThe GameCube controller is the standard game controller for the GameCube home video game console, manufactured by Nintendo and launched in 2001. As the successor to the Nintendo 64 controller, it is the progression of Nintendo's controller design in numerous ways. The contentious M-shaped design of its predecessor was replaced with a more conventional handlebar style controller shape; a second analog stick was added, replacing the C buttons with a C stick and the X and Y face buttons, last seen on the Super Nintendo controller, were reintroduced; the shoulder buttons were changed to hybrid analog triggers.
Time–frequency representationA time–frequency representation (TFR) is a view of a signal (taken to be a function of time) represented over both time and frequency. Time–frequency analysis means analysis into the time–frequency domain provided by a TFR. This is achieved by using a formulation often called "Time–Frequency Distribution", abbreviated as TFD. TFRs are often complex-valued fields over time and frequency, where the modulus of the field represents either amplitude or "energy density" (the concentration of the root mean square over time and frequency), and the argument of the field represents phase.
Root locus analysisIn control theory and stability theory, root locus analysis is a graphical method for examining how the roots of a system change with variation of a certain system parameter, commonly a gain within a feedback system. This is a technique used as a stability criterion in the field of classical control theory developed by Walter R. Evans which can determine stability of the system. The root locus plots the poles of the closed loop transfer function in the complex s-plane as a function of a gain parameter (see pole–zero plot).