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EDWartens UK

Free course · Control engineering

MATLAB and Simulink for Control Systems

Control engineering with the tools engineers actually use: the MATLAB and Simulink environment, transfer functions and block diagrams, time response, stability with Routh-Hurwitz and root locus, frequency response with Bode, Nyquist and Nichols, loop shaping, PID design and tuning, feedforward, gain scheduling and delays, state space, pole placement, LQR and observers, physical modelling and system identification, Simulink for electrical engineers, and implementation in discrete time.

See the modules

Free to learn. Verifiable certificate £19 when you pass the final exam (optional, VAT included).

Level
Intermediate
Modules
15
Video
23 hours
Price
Free

Outcome

What you will be able to do

Model systems as transfer functions and state space in MATLAB, simulate them in Simulink, analyse time and frequency response and stability, design and tune PID, lead-lag, pole-placement and LQR controllers, add feedforward and gain scheduling, identify models from data, model electrical and mechanical systems, and implement controllers in discrete time.

  • Use MATLAB and Simulink for modelling and simulation
  • Analyse transfer functions, time response and stability
  • Read Bode, Nyquist and Nichols plots and shape loops
  • Design and tune PID, lead-lag, pole-placement and LQR controllers
  • Model physical systems and identify models from data
  • Implement controllers in discrete time

Software

MATLAB and Simulink with Control System Toolbox (trial, student or MATLAB Online)

Hardware

None required.

Syllabus

15 modules

Each module has video lessons, notes and a short quiz. The final exam closes the course.

  1. 1The MATLAB and Simulink Environment10 lessons
  2. 2What Control Engineers Do and Control Theory Overview5 lessons
  3. 3Transfer Functions and Block Diagrams7 lessons
  4. 4Time Response5 lessonsLab
  5. 5Stability: Routh-Hurwitz and Root Locus7 lessons
  6. 6Frequency Response: Bode, Nyquist and Nichols7 lessons
  7. 7Control Design with Bode Plots5 lessons
  8. 8PID Design and Tuning8 lessonsLab
  9. 9Feedforward, Gain Scheduling, Delays and Notch Filters8 lessons
  10. 10State Space9 lessons
  11. 11Modern Control: Pole Placement, LQR and Observers5 lessons
  12. 12Modelling Physical Systems and System Identification11 lessons
  13. 13Simulink for Electrical Engineers: PWM, Converters and Drives6 lessons
  14. 14Implementation: Discrete Time and Real Time7 lessons
  15. 15Final Assessment1 lesson

How it works

How this course works

  1. Watch the video lessonsOne module at a time, at your own pace.
  2. Take the module quizA short quiz at the end of each module shows what stuck.
  3. Keep your notesWrite in My notes beside each module and ask the trainer if you are stuck.
  4. Practise in the labOptionalTry a task from the module in the EDWartens Lab, in your browser.
  5. Sit the final examPass it once you have been through the modules.
  6. Certificate, if you want oneOptionalPaid, and only after you pass. Anyone can check it online.

EDWartens Lab

Practise this in the EDWartens Lab

Calibrate a 4 to 20 mA transmitter, tune a level or flow loop and read the trend in the Lab's process simulator.

Works alongside MATLAB and Simulink for Control Systems. The Lab is process control practice in your browser: no install, no hardware, free to use. Sign in as a learner and it opens with your account.

Open the free lab See the Lab
Process control: Tune a real process loop.

Levels to try with this course

Optional. Skip it whenever you like: it never blocks your progress or your certificate.

Why practise in a lab

Technical work is judged on what you can do: wiring, commissioning, finding a fault. Doing a task yourself teaches more than watching it a second time, and a lab lets you try it safely before you meet real equipment. It does not replace working on real hardware.

  • Practise safely, so a mistake costs nothing.
  • The lab checks your work like a site test, so you know when it is right.
  • Free, in your browser, with nothing to install.

Certificate

An optional certificate when you pass

Learning is free. Pass the final exam and you can have a certificate for £19, including VAT, with a number employers can check online. It records that you completed a free online course; it is not a regulated qualification or a CPD certificate.

  • Your name, the course, its study time and your final exam score
  • A unique certificate number and a QR code to its verification page
  • Issued by Wartens Ltd; add it to your LinkedIn profile in one click
  • Pay now or after you pass: it is issued the moment you pass the final

How the certificate works

Sample certificate for MATLAB and Simulink for Control Systems

Credits

Who made the lessons

The video lessons belong to their creators. EDWartens wrote the study plan, notes, quizzes and the final exam.

  • KKDexplains

    the control systems and MATLAB Simulink tutorials

  • MATLAB

    the control system design and analysis playlist

  • MATLAB

    the Control Systems in Practice series

  • emobility-in

    the MATLAB/Simulink for electrical engineers course

  • Safey El-Deen Abdo

    the Matlab Simulink course playlist

Questions

About this course

Is MATLAB free?
No, but MATLAB Online, the student licence and the trial all include Simulink and Control System Toolbox for the course.
How much maths?
Laplace transforms, complex numbers and matrices; the course reviews what it uses.
Is this useful for PLC people?
Yes: it is the theory behind the PID block, the VFD tuning screen and the servo autotune.
Is the course really free?
Yes. Every module, practice task and assessment. You create an account so your progress is saved and the assessments can be marked. The certificate is the only paid item, and only if you want it.
What certificate do I get, and is it a vendor qualification?
An EDWartens Certificate of Completion, issued when you pass the final assessment, with a verification code anyone can check. It is not a vendor credential and is never described as one.
Who made the video lessons?
The creators named in the Credits block at the foot of this page, on their own YouTube channels. EDWartens did not make the videos and the creators are not affiliated with EDWartens. What EDWartens wrote is the study plan, the notes, the practice tasks and the assessments.
How long does the course take?
Plan on about 23 hours in all, including the video lessons, notes and practice tasks. It is self-paced, so you work through the fifteen modules at your own speed.

Control theory to the loop

Take it with

See the whole path

The Professional Module is five live days of Siemens PLC, HMI and SCADA with an instructor, then a resume session and a CPD certificate.

See the Professional Module