This volume provides a general overview on the state-of-the-art and future developments in automation and control. The application of systems and control in all areas is covered, from the social and cultural effects of control, to control in mineral and metal processing. This volume will be an invaluable source of information to all those interested in the areas of automation and control.

This book presents the fundamental principles and challenges encountered in the control of biomedical systems, providing practical solutions and suggesting alternatives. The perspective of the text is based on the system behaviour in the time domain both linear and non-linear, continuous and discrete, helping the reader to be able to interpret the physical significance of mathematical results during control system analysis and design focusing on biomedical engineering applications. Interactive learning is promoted, endowing students with the ability to change parameters and conditions during the simulation and see the effects of these changes, by using interactive MATLAB and SIMULINK software tools, also presenting realistic problems in order to analyse, design and develop automatic control systems. The text is also complemented with MATLAB and SIMULINK exercise files solved to aid students to focus on the fundamental concepts treated throughout the book, following a new pedagogical approach distinct from the classical one whereby fundamental control concepts are introduced together with adequate software tools in order to gain insight on the biomedical engineering control problems. The book is suitable for second or third-year undergraduate students who will find the illustrative examples particularly useful to their studies of control system design and implementation. Lecturers in the control field will find the computer aided design approach as an alternative to teaching the fundamental concepts of feedback analogic and digital control.

This book provides insight and enhanced appreciation of analysis, modeling and control of dynamic systems. The reader is assumed to be familiar with calculus, physics and some programming skills. It might develop the reader’s ability to interpret physical significance of mathematical results in system analysis. The book also prepares the reader for more advanced treatment of subsequent knowledge in the automatic control field. Learning objectives are performance-oriented, using for this purpose interactive MATLAB and SIMULINK software tools. It presents realistic problems in order to analyze, design and develop automatic control systems. Learning with computing tools can aid theory and help students to think, analyze and reason in meaningful ways. The book is also complemented with classroom slides and MATLAB and SIMULINK exercise files to aid students to focus on fundamental concepts treated.