International Conference on Engineering Education July 21–25, 2003, Valencia, Spain.1

Interdisciplinary teaching in the area of control and management systems

Radim Farana, VSB – Technical University of Ostrava, 17. listopadu 15, Ostrava-Poruba, 708 33, Czech Republic,radim.farana@vsb.cz, http://fs1.vsb.cz/~far10

Abstract This Paper is focused on interdisciplinary teaching in the area of control and management systems. Thestructure of subjects and the subjects’ contents have been changed because of changing the study plans in respect of theBologna Declaration. This general change has opened new ways to connect these subjects to other problem parts, especiallyto the problems of control systems, data collection and data processing systems, data visualisation systems and managementsystems. The Paper presents good experience with developing real laboratory tasks oriented on wireless communicationsystems, using GSM controller. During their semester project in the subject „Database systems“, students have developedthese laboratory tasks. The completed projects put the problems of data measurement, control systems, database systems andother parts together and make demands on students to solve all these problems together. This has proved a useful way tounderstand the complexity of separately taught subjects. The presented results have been achieved during the development ofthe research project MSM 272300012.

Index Terms Bologna Declaration, control system, database, management, study plan.

STUDY PLANS

Three years ago our Faculty of Mechanical Engineering has changed all study plans to the serial study system, according tothe Bologna Declaration, because of the accreditation process, which motivated us to change the study plans completely.Now our students are in the second year of a three-year Bachelor study and we started study specialisation. Figure 1 showsthe main parts of actual study plans. The study branch subject starts in the fourth semester of Bachelor study, the Masterstudy has only a few connected subjects. This is a huge change in study plans, because previous the study system had beenparallel and only a small number of bachelor students continued to the master study through a special year of study, includingbackground subjects like Mathematics, Physics, and Mechanics, etc. Now we have much more space for the study branchsubjects than before, but we have differed the subjects for bachelor and master study, because previously the subject contentshad been similar from 20% to 50%. The second problem is to fill in the study branch subjects. We have now much morespace for specialisation, so that we have prepared three specialisation in our study branch called “Engineering computerscience and control” in the bachelor study plan. They are:• Control systems – focused on basic knowledge of control systems, instrumentation, sensors etc.• Application of computer science – focused to computer hardware and software, database systems etc.• Technical management – information systems, engineering management etc.

FIGURE 1MAIN PARTS OF ACTUAL STUDY PLANS.

1st year 2nd year3rd year2nd year1st year

Joint background of mechanicalengineering:

Mathematics, Physics, Mechanics,Machine Parts, ElectricalEngineering background,

CAD systems, …

Study branchsubjects

Control systems, Instrumentation,computer HW and SW

Specialisationsubjects

Bachelor study Master study

Study branchsubjects

Specialisationsubjects

Jointsubjects

Jointsubjects

Figure 2 shows the study branch subjects divided into parts according to study specialisation. Separate parts areguaranteed by different teacher groups as individual study parts without concurrence with other study parts. In consequenceof this situation, students have the problem to understand the problem connections between different fields of study,

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especially between different study specialisations. These problems are apparent during the final exams every year. Studentshave a huge problem to solve the complex problems throughout study specialisation, including development of softwaresystems for concrete mechanical systems control. Restructuring of the study plans gave us a very good opportunity to preparenew subject contents respecting the requirements of separate study part connections.

FIGURE 2STUDY BRANCH SUBJECTS.

6th sem5th sem4th sem

Bachelor thesis

Bachelor study

Control Systems Theory

Instrumentation

Computer Science,Computers, Networks

Electrical Engineering Backgrounds

Control Systems DesignThermomechanics

Machine Parts

Management systems and methodsForeign Language

CAD systems

COMPUTER SCIENCE SUBJECTS

Thanks to the study plan changes, we have obtained the possibility to completely change the subject content. At first, wechanged the content of subject “Databases and Internet”, which is the fundamental subject in the specialisation Applicationof computer science. Previous subject content was oriented on database system development only and laboratory tasks werefocused on database system problems, Internet connectivity etc. It is clear that we cannot change the full subject content, themain database problems have to be included in the lectures. Then we changed the principles of exercises taught to show howdatabases and information systems are connected to other control systems parts. They are many different problems andsystems using databases or other ways to store data for their processing, like visualisation and supervisory systems [4, 7],measurement systems [2, 8], instrumentation systems [6] etc.

As a first step to connect database problems with other parts of study, we found some problems taught in other subjectsand included them in the exercises:• Measured data storing and processing (Instrumentation, Sensor Systems).• Control system analysis and next data processing (Control System Theory).• Technological process data storing and analysis (Process Visualisation).• Production data analysis (Management systems).

This strategy helped students to develop their semester work, bachelor and diploma thesis from these fields of interest.Unfortunately, it was very complicated to take data and databases from so much different fields of interest, because everypart of problems has been solved in different laboratories with different equipment. This way is also good for completing abachelor or diploma thesis, but very complicated for standard teaching. Upon this ascertainment, we started to build a speciallaboratory for database and information system completing, including:• Database server (Microsoft SQL 2000 Server).• Application server (web server with ASP technology support).• Client program developing systems (PowerBuilder, Microsoft Access database).• Data acquisition systems, measurement systems.• Supervisory control systems, remote control systems.• Control system developing software.

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INFORMATION SYSTEMS LABORATORY

Figure 3 shows the basic structure of a built laboratory. The main part is a server farm located in a special computer roomtogether with network hardware. All servers are remotely operated using the network. The computer laboratory has beenequipped with software for client tools development. Most important is a specialised laboratory, which is built now. The firstequipment installed in this laboratory is shown in Fig. 4:• Bar code readers – enables to develop typical warehouse and sales information systems with online data input,• Simple input carts – enables to develop data measurement and data processing systems, connected to existing laboratory

tasks used in other subjects from the area of control systems and instrumentation,• Special GSM controller – enables the development of simple measurement, data storing and remote control systems with

the use of knowledge acquired in subjects from the area of control systems theory, sensor systems and data processingsystems,

• SCADA/HMI software connected to the laboratory tasks for system visualization and control.Laboratory tasks are used during the exercises for example for data source connection, data storing and on-line data

processing. Some of them need knowledge from special subjects like real-time system programming [1], non-linear controltheory [9] or special data processing methods [8]. An important use of this equipment is also in completing semester work,which is an integral part of the completing a subject.

FIGURE 3INFORMATION SYSTEMS LABORATORY – SERVER FARM AND COMPUTER CONNECTION.

Network

SQLserver

Computerlaboratory

Specialisedlaboratory

Clientsoftware

Webserver

Laboratorytasks

FIGURE 4SPECIALISED LABORATORY EQUIPMENT.

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Semester works are oriented on solving complex problems, including the problems of the system analysis, controlsystem synthesis, data collection (sometimes including data compression), data processing and presentation. A typicalproblem, solved with the help of the GSM controller, is shown in Fig. 5. GSM automat is used as a data measurement system,which puts data in the database for further data processing and visualization.

FIGURE 5TYPICAL LABORATORY TASK WITH USE OF GSM CONTROLLER.

Sensor iButtoninput

GSMcontroller

I/O

Dallas

GSMnet

RS 232

Datatransfer

Centraldatabase

Dataprocessing

SMS

Localdatabase

Laptopcomputer

CONCLUSIONS

We have now only the first experience with solving complicated and complex problems in the teaching process and they haveshowed us that it is very complicated to prepare suitable laboratory tasks, but students are achieving very good results andthese problems are very popular, especially among good students.

REFERENCES

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[5] Saloky, T., Aplikácie techník strojového učenia, ELFA, Košice 1998, ISBN 80-88786-73-8.

[6] Smutný, L., Smart Instruments in Wireless LAN, In Proceedings of International Workshop on Intelligent Mining Systems. Fukuoka (Japan) :KYUSHU University Fukuoka, 2002, pp. 85-90, ISBN 80-86111-90-3.

[7] Škuta, J., The application of PC parallel port in Control Web 2000 system, In Proceedings of International Scientific Conference of FME, Session 4:Automation Control and Applied Informatic. Ostrava : VŠB-TUO, 2000. s. 1-5.

[8] Tůma, J., Identification of Blast Furnace Model with Feedback in Experimental Data and Statistically Optimal Control, Sborník vědeckých pracíVysoké školy báňské - Technické univerzity Ostrava. Řada strojní, 2001, vol. XLVII., (No. 1), s. 155-162.

[9] Wagnerová, R., Position Control of Levitation Object by Using Sliding Modes, In Proceedings of International Scientific Conference of FME, Session4: Automation Control and Applied Informatics. Ostrava : VŠB-TU Ostrava, 2000. s. 1-6.