Control systems

Question 1

what are control systems

Answer 1

one or more devices that guides other devices or systems

Question 2

what does a control system allow to happen

Answer 2

completion of various tasks in an automatic manner

Question 3

what may control systems include and why?

Answer 3

sensors to gain feedback from the environment
motors to control any actuators

Question 4

give an example of a control system

Answer 4

automatic doors that can be found in supermarkets - sensor may use infrared or microwave signals that bounce off objects to detect motion
sensor forwards its signals to the microprocessor and allows the control system to operate the actuator to open the doors

Question 5

what is an interrupt

Answer 5

signal sent to the control system indicating that the system needs to pay attention to the specific signal immediately

Question 6

what is process control

Answer 6

control of one or more variables in a system

Question 7

what are the two different types of controllers

Answer 7

open, closed controllers

Question 8

what are device drivers

Answer 8

computer programs used to control a computer device of any kind - eg. keyboards, printers etc

Question 9

what do device drivers allow

Answer 9

allows the operating system and other programs to access the devices with a layer of abstraction

Question 10

what features make a device driver as efficient as possible

Answer 10

hardware-dependent,
operating system specific

Question 11

control system in heating system

Answer 11

sensors allow the control system to measure the temperature of the environment and detect any action they need to perform to reach a desired temperature

Question 12

what does heating control system enable

Answer 12

allows conservation of energy
more efficient than manually turning on and off a heating system

Question 13

control system in taxi meter

Answer 13

seat sensors detect presence of passengers to prevent passenger journeys that don’t operate the taximeter

Question 14

control system in elevators

Answer 14

a weight sensor might exist that tells the control system how full the car is
a motion sensor is used to prevent the door from closing when people are entering/leaving

Question 15

how is an interrupt used in elevators

Answer 15

a stop button stops the elevator from moving in emergency situations - this button sends an interrupt signal to the processor of the control system

Question 16

control systems in washing machines

Answer 16

sensors used to determine load size, water level, temperature, user interface
door is locked by a computer system

Question 17

domestic robots control system

Answer 17

uses sensors to map and find their way through the rooms
cameras to create house maps and know their current and previous location
sensors detect the material the robot is on

Question 18

control systems in GPS

Answer 18

includes sensors that locate satellites , figures out its distance to each one, calculates the time difference and uses trilateration to deduce its location

Question 19

two different types of control systems in traffic lights

Answer 19

fixed time
dynamic control

Question 20

what is fixed time system in traffic lights

Answer 20

open loop control systems - do not receive any feedback from the environment
configured to change color after a given period of time

Question 21

what is dynamic control system in traffic lights

Answer 21

closed loop control systems - provides feedback on the amount of traffic passing by
uses two different types of sensors that detect traffic condition: embedded into surface of the road, mounted on traffic light