Digital implementation of a nonlinear delayed-feedback system

A digital electronic system which implements a certain class of nonlinear delayed feedback models and reproduces the nonlinear oscillation phenomena in real time was designed and constructed. The purpose of the system is two-fold: to act as a simulator and to act as a prototype design for a functional digital device using complicated nonlinear oscillations. The system has an architecture which simulates the signal flow in a nonlinear delayed feedback system with fixed-point arithmetic. We describe the design principles aimed at maintaining the simplicity of the circuit structure and the variety of dynamics generated. Quantization effects are discussed. In particular, it is shown how spurious quantization effects peculiar to digital systems can be estimated and avoided