Microactuator system for teaching micropositioning control system design

Recent progress in the development of microactuators and other micro-devices for biotechnology has increased the demand for skilled engineers that specialize in this field. This cannot be ignored in the curricula developed by the universities for control engineering students. The presented paper describes a teaching methodology for graduate students from the control engineering department who specialize in control of biotechnological systems. A particular emphasis is put on laboratory work, where students have an opportunity to gain a practical experience in modeling and control of piezoelectric microactuators. In contrast to the existing teaching approaches, the position measurement of the microactuator stage is realized in two ways. As a result, it is possible to compare the effectiveness of positioning controllers with different position sensors. Moreover, in order to develop higher cognitive skills in students, the implemented controllers are designed from scratch without using additional packages for control system design. However, due to the limited time available for the realization of the laboratory course the students are divided into two groups. Each group (for the chosen measurement technique) designs and implements four structures of the positioning control system: the open-loop and closed-loop systems with and without a model-based compensator. The closed-loop system is based on the classical proportional-integral (PI) controller. In turn, the model-based compensator uses the inverted Preisach model (both microactuators exhibit hysteresis behavior). At the end of the course, students prepare the final joint report which includes a comparison between all implemented structures using different measurement techniques.