Automated project-based assessment in a predictive control course

Abstract

Written assessments, such as book problems and exams, have customarily been used in control courses to measure student progress, but usually only gauge their knowledge of the theoretical concepts. More complicated control methods, such as predictive control, benefit from gauging student progress through implementation projects. We present a set of automatically marked project-based assessments that test student knowledge on concepts ranging from the derivation of physics models to the creation of a closed-loop predictive controller. We present a simulation framework that allows for the students to utilize any predictive control concepts that they decide to use in their implementation. The framework then automatically tests the student solutions against multiple constraint sets and conditions to provide quantitative data for marking the assessment.