Organizing a special-purpose computer to realize digital filters for sampled-data systems

A special-purpose computer is organized to implement a programmable digital filter intended for use in sampled-data control systems. A canonical representation for the digital filter is selected and this form is implemented in functional blocks that are suitable for circuit integration. An analytical technique is discussed that helps determine acceptable quantization resolutions and round-off errors in the digital filter. Experimentation with the digital filter is performed in the pendulous integrating gyroscopic accelerometer control loop and in an analog computer simulation of the Saturn V thrust vector control system; the filter used as a digital compensator successfully stabilizes both sampled-data control systems. The performance of the digital filter is examined and organizational techniques to improve its characteristics are proposed.