Symbolic mathematics in control system analysis and design

Symbolic mathematical techniques and computer algebra systems have yet to be widely applied within the field of control. The benefits they have to offer in terms of greater accuracy and clarity of solutions for system analysis and design have yet to be fully exploited. This paper discusses these benefits and the facilities required by the user to support the use of symbolic algorithms and computer algebra systems for analysis of dynamic systems. These facilities include the means to store, edit and manipulate symbolic mathematical representations of the properties of a system. The methods by which this data may be used for analytical investigation by both symbolic and numerical packages are discussed. Finally, an implementation of such facilities within an integrated graphical environment for control engineering is described.