New technologies for Computer Control 2001 (NTCC 2001) Book

Computers allow us to perform many tasks now with levels of reliability and accuracy that have never before been possible. Control engineering is benefiting from new technologies, such as networking of computers, ever-increasing computer power, mechatronics and intelligent sensors for improving the reliability and safety of control systems, which will have profound implications for all application areas of engineering. Implementing sophisticated control algorithms and structures are within easy reach, and researchers are now working on a road-map for computer control in the 21st century. The first IFAC Conference on New Technologies for Computer Control was a multi-track conference organised by the IFAC Coordinating Committee on Computer Control, together with its five technical committees: Distributed Computer Control Systems, Real-Time Software Engineering, Artificial Intelligence in Real-Time Control, Algorithms and Architectures for Real-Time Control, and Safety of Computer Control Systems. The papers presented in these proceedings cover a broad range of topics under the above headings, and form a unique collection of material representing the state of the research field as assessed by the world's leading pundits. Topics covered include: parallel and distributed computing, software architecture and hardware for distributed computer control, real-time operating systems, real-time communication architectures, intelligent control, evolutionary control techniques, and safety aspects of control systems. Six plenary papers were delivered by world-renowned experts in computer control covering standards for real-time computer systems, delivery of time-sensitive information, evolutionary computing for control engineers, transparent neuro-fuzzy modelling, and computer control of combustion engines.