SIMUS — Introduction to MATLAB & Simulink
A hands-on introduction to MATLAB and Simulink for simulating and controlling dynamic systems, from linear state-space models to nonlinear control and observer design.
Instructor: Moein Sarbandi
Term: Fall
Location: École Centrale de Nantes
Time: TBD
Course Overview
This course introduces MATLAB and Simulink as tools for simulating and controlling dynamic systems.
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
- Build, configure, and run Simulink models of linear and nonlinear systems
- Represent systems in state-space form and move between transfer-function and state-space representations
- Design and tune classical controllers: proportional control, pole placement, and LQR
- Design Luenberger observers and understand observer-controller duality
- Apply feedback linearization to simple nonlinear systems
- Compare PID, state-feedback, and LQR controllers on a common benchmark
Prerequisites
- Basic linear algebra and ordinary differential equations
- Introductory control theory
- No prior MATLAB/Simulink experience required
Materials
Lecture slides, TD session notes, and the course project statement are attached to each session above.
Schedule
| Week | Date | Topic | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep 17, 2025 | Introduction to MATLAB & Simulink Building and running simple models, solver/sampling options, working with simulation results in MATLAB. Illustrated with an OpenFAST + Simulink + SIL workflow example. | |
| 2 | Sep 19, 2025 | Séance TD — Simulation d'un système linéaire Guided tutorial in French on building a Simulink simulator for a second-order linear system, comparing integration algorithms, and implementing proportional and state-feedback control. | |
| 3 | TBD | Project — Nonlinear control and observer design Full project on feedback linearization, state-feedback and observer design, nonlinear dynamic control of a mobile robot, and comparison of PID, pole placement, and LQR controllers. |