Integrating the classroom and laboratory: an approach to capstone design

A two-quarter senior-level sequence in control systems is described. The first course covers classical control and is accompanied by a laboratory. A parallel activity is the planning of a capstone design project which students execute as part of the second course. The second course offers students new material on modern control theory plus a capstone design experience that includes implementation and testing of the design project in the laboratory. These capstone design projects provide the basis for new experiments for the laboratory that accompanies the first course.
A two-course senior-level sequence in control systems at the Georgia Institute of Technology School of Electrical Engineering is discussed. The first course deals with single input/output systems using Laplace equations while the second course covers a deeper analysis of the systems. The integration of these courses into a single subject resulted in the students' renewed interest in control systems applications and designs.