Grant: Idea to Innovation

The real-time motion controller is a fundamental component in manufacturing and automation systems. The controller is responsible for acquiring data from the system sensors, processing the data in real-time using the implemented control algorithm, and making motion corrections by outputting the resulting control commands to the system actuators. For digital controllers, which are used almost exclusively in motion control today, this process is repeated at a fixed sampling frequency. Using a higher sampling frequency results in more frequent motion corrections and thus faster machine motions and higher machine accuracies can be obtained. State-of-the-art controllers are able to achieve sampling rates of around 100 kHz. There exist a growing number of high-speed precision applications, such as diamond turning, scanning probe microscopy, and laser beam steering that desire significantly faster sampling rates to increase productivity. UBC's recent work in multi-processor real-time controller technology has demonstrated that 1 MHz sampling rates are achievable without sacrificing data accuracy. The goal of this project is to ready this technology for industry evaluation by developing a fully functional multicore prototype and refining the supporting software that facilitates control algorithm development and graphical user interface layout.