Annual STEM Project High School Competition for Taiwan and South Korea Theme for 2023/2024: Control Systems Engineering

1.0 Introduction:

This year’s competition is designed to encourage creativity, innovative thinking, and appeal to young people interested in STEM and inspire them to consider pursuing their higher education in the field of control system engineering, mechatronics and robotics.

2.0 Why studying at The University of Sheffield?

The University of Sheffield has a global reputation for its exceptional teaching, impactful research, international outlook and outstanding student experience.

• Number one in the Russell Group (National Student Survey 2023, based on aggregate responses).
• Top 50 in the most international universities rankings (2022 Times Higher Education World University Rankings).
• Number one Students’ Union in the UK (Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023, 2022, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017).
• Number one for teaching quality, Students’ Union and clubs/societies (StudentCrowd 2023 University Awards).
• A top 20 university targeted by employers (The Graduate Market in 2023, High Fliers report).
• Six Nobel Prize winners (Professor Sir Fraser Stoddart, Sir Harry Kroto, FRS, Sir Richard Roberts, FRS, Lord Porter of Luddenham, OM, FRS, Sir Hans Krebs, FRS and Howard Florey, Baron Florey of Adelaide and Marston, FRS).

Why studying at ACSE?

The Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering (ACSE) is the largest Control and Systems Engineering Department in Europe, with over 130 academic staff, research assistants and research students and over 300 undergraduate and postgraduate degree students.

• ACSE is the only department in the UK and one of the best in the world dedicated to automation and systems engineering. It was established in 1968, in response to the growing importance of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering to all branches of industry worldwide.
• ACSE provides a range of undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses, and research degrees offering opportunities for postgraduate training in Automatic Control and Systems Engineering and associated topics.

3.0 What is a Control Systems?

Control systems are widely used in our daily life. For example, washing machines use control systems for regulating the water level, cycle time, and temperature. Control systems also are used in monitoring and controlling various aspects of home security system – for example, motion detectors, cameras, and door locks. There are many other applications of control system in industrial automation, robotics, aerospace and in the field of biomedical for regulating the operations of medical devices and equipment.

Types of Control Systems

There are two main types of operating control systems:

• Open-loop control systems: These systems do not use feedback for adjusting outputs. Open-loop control systems rely on pre-determined input signals for producing the desired output.
• Closed-loop control systems: Closed-loop systems continuously measure and compare the system’s output to the desired outputs. The input signal is then adjusted accordingly. These systems, also known as feedback control systems, use feedback to adjust their outputs.

Open-loop Control System

The open-loop control system, illustrated in Figure 1, is the system where the output is not fed back to the input for comparison and correction. Therefore, the control action is not influenced by the output of the system. The system operates based only on the input command. They do not require sensors or feedback mechanisms. These control systems are being used in applications where there is no compulsion for precise or critical output. Open-loop control systems are simple and prove to be inexpensive in implementation.

Figure 1: Block diagram of an Open-loop Control System

There are many examples of open-loop control systems. Here are below some typical examples:

• Open-loop control systems are widely used in washing machines with a timer. The duration of the washing machine is controlled by a timer. The machine operates according to the pre-set time, i.e., without any feedback from sensors or the users.
• Most toasters have timers controlling the duration of the toasting cycle. The user sets the desired toasting time according to their needs. The toaster heats the bread at a pre-set time without any feedback from sensors or users.
• In addition to the above two examples, open-loop control systems are widely used in many industrial applications, like conveyor systems or assembly lines.

Closed-loop Control System

This control system is continuously monitoring and adjusting its performance according to the difference between the actual output and desired output (input). As shown in Figure (2), the system’s error detector measures the difference between the desired and actual outputs. After that, the controller utilises this error signal to decide how to modify the output to minimise the error.

Figure 2: Block diagram of a Closed-loop Control System

There are different kinds of electronic devices that use a closed-loop control system. So, the applications of closed-loop control systems include, but limited to the followings:

• Home Security System
• Water level control system.
• Air condition temperature control system.
• Motor speed control system.
• Thermostat heater control system.

4.0 Competition Task

We are looking for individual students or teams of students up to four members in each team to participate in this competition.

Imagine you are an engineer…This is your chance you show off your skills by designing a control system/circuit that could do any task or job you can think of – the only limit is your imagination.

You are invited to take part in the competition, by designing a control system that solves an everyday life problem (ranging from medical application, domestic assistant, environment, industrial applications, etc.). As a team, you need to:

• Identify the problem/challenge that you are trying to solve.
• Clearly outline your approach of how to solve this problem (rationale).

Design a control system (prototype) that can help you in solving a real problem. You can design a new control system from scratch or add another feature to an existing control system application to improve its functionality and operations.