Lancaster University

The syllabus is based on three complementary subject areas. The first term considers the dynamic response of systems, whilst the second term focuses on instrumentation and embedded systems. Details are listed below.

Dynamic response of systems and control system design. Modelling 1st and 2nd order systems. Time and frequency response. Transfer functions and block diagrams. Poles, zeros and stability. Feedback control and Bode diagrams.

Instrumentation. Overview of instrumentation and signal conditioning. Resistance based sensors and physical operating principles. Thermo-electric sensors. Analogue to digital conversion. Magnetic and electromagnetic measurement. High impedance sensors such as piezoelectric and capacitance transducers. Acoustic sensors.

Embedded systems. Internal parallel and serial busses and interfacing of mapped hardware devices. Interrupt architectures, mechanisms and software. Concurrent systems: real time scheduling, synchronisation and inter-task communication. Data communication including practical implementations of hardware, software and protocols. Software and hardware engineering, including a brief introduction to the development cycle.

Part 1 Engineering or equivalent.

To develop an understanding of system dynamics and feedback at the block diagram level, by providing the student with the tools for the analysis of linear single-degree-of-freedom systems.  To give the student an ability to choose and use appropriate instrumentation appropriate for feedback and data-logging purposes. In particular, to introduce the function and physical operation of a range of common types of transducer and how to condition signals from such transducers, including techniques for noise and error reduction. Finally, to consider how to interface devices such as memory, digital IO and analogue IO to a microprocessor or microcontroller; and how to access such devices from within a program using C and/or Assembler.

To develop students’ ability to analyse engineering problems, create and design solutions to meet ‘real-world’ engineering needs, think and argue critically, and plan and organise their work. To provide students with a wide range of skills to design feedback controllers and so regulate the dynamic behaviour of engineering systems. To give the student an ability to choose instrumentation appropriate to an application and to understand the common pitfalls, short comings and possible solutions to these.

On successful completion of this module students will be able to...