Discrete-Time Control Systems (2nd Edition)

Rating:
Summary: Great text.
Review: Ogata does an excellent job of introducing the student to discrete-time control theory, including z-transforms, sampling theory, and simulation. Well-written.

Rating:
Summary: Digital Control Made Simple
Review: One of the best books written on digital control, by an autjority in the field of controls. I found this book simple to understand even with no experience in digital control. Each chapter has lots of worked examples and practice problems, enough to get you comfortable with the chapter concepts. Its worth every penny...

Rating:
Summary: This book is an academic's wank
Review: This book has only one thing I can say positive about it: It has a good appendix section that revises matrix theory. As far as the actual bulk of the text goes, well, just read my review title. It does not adequately cover the "intuitive" aspects of computer control, and Ogata has a habit of implying many things but not explaining them - for example, he uses the word "filter" interchangebly with the word "difference equation" which is very dangerous when you do not elaborate on the use of digital filters for signals. Most of the text is mathematical modelling with nothing included to help the undergraduate intuitively or qualitatively understand WHY computer controls work the way they do. In addition, many of the mathematical workings included do not have adequate detail in the steps in order to help students understand what he is doing. The text is very academic, very analytical, yet quite incomplete. Writing about computer control algorithms, should be left to people who understand computers best - computer engineers. It should NOT be done by mechanical engineers, because this is what happens...

Rating:
Summary: Good, but not enough
Review: This book was the major reference for our course of Digital Control, but a lot of things are not well explained. Starting by Z-transforms: the book doesn't even mention the regions of convergence (ROC), there in no topic about Fourier series/transform (I had to buy Signals & Systems by Oppenheim to completely understand z-transforms) and the topics about Discretization methods of analogic controllers (Euler, Tustin, etc.) is a joke. The discrete PID controllers are also not well explained. If you are in need of a well rounded book about discrete control, Ogata is a nice option - and expensive, but if you need something more deep, don't buy it.