Research Equipment Grant: Computer Equipment for Real-Time Parallel-Processing Control Applications

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of New Jersey Institute of Technology will purchase parallel processing hardware (specifically, adapter boards for use in IBM AT-compatible host computers with INMOS T800 transputers) and associated interfacing peripheral equipment and software which will be dedicated to the support of research in engineering. The equipment will be used to study several issues in the implementation of real-time parallel feedback control strategies. The primary emphasis will be on the application to antagonistic control, a new concept for controlling the position of an object by means of strings or wires in which the tension is actively controlled. The application not only serves as a useful paradigm for elucidating the issues in implementation of parallel processing algorithms, but also has the potential of an entirely new way of achieving accurate position control. Other uses for research equipment will include reconfigurable control and reliable control software.