Educational aspects of CAD supported real time control

Educational aspects of CAD supported real time control are discussed. The historical development of the equipment and appropriate software concerning laboratory exercises in the field of real-time control is briefly described. The hardware and software equipment used in the education process at Ljubljana University is briefly described. Emphasis is given to the equipment developed: a hydraulic-thermal pilot plant, two CACSD program packages with their real-time capabilities, and a special program for real time control in addition to emphasizing their connection in a powerful educational system. Some typical exercises from undergraduate courses, e.g., some experiments on the connection of analog and digital computer, identification of the hydraulic process and its level control, as well as some exercises from a graduate course, e.g., the implementation of adaptive digital filtering in real-time are described. Some difficulties encountered when applying the theory to practical problems are discussed.