Exact tuning of PID controllers in control feedback design

Abstract In this paper, we introduce a range of techniques for the exact design of PID controllers for feedback control problems involving requirements on the steady-state performance and standard frequency domain specifications on the stability margins and crossover frequencies. These techniques hinge on a set of simple closed-form formulae for the explicit computation of the parameters of the controller in finite terms as functions of the specifications, and therefore they eliminate the need for graphical, heuristic or trial-and-error procedures. The relevance of this approach is i ) theoretical, since a closed-form solution is provided for the design of PID-type controllers with standard frequency domain specifications; ii ) computational, since the techniques presented here are readily implementable as software routines, for example using MATLAB®; iii ) educational, because the synthesis of the controller reduces to a simple exercise on complex numbers that can be solved with pen, paper and a scientific calculator. These techniques also appear to be very convenient within the context of adaptive control and self-tuning strategies, where the controller parameters have to be calculated on-line.