The INDUCT team consists of experienced engineers with a masters and/or PhD degree in engineering. Moreover, INDUCT maintains close relations with academic experts at KULeuven, VUB and Ghent University. In order to keep informed of the latest new technology INDUCT also participates in the user or interest group of a number of research projects, such as LeCoPro. The most important knowledge domains of INDUCT are:
- Control technology
- Sensor selection, design and acquisition
- System identification – soft sensor design
- Dealing with time-variable material
- Sensors and actuators
- Rapid prototyping
- Commercial implementation of automation solutions
Control technology
The INDUCT has a broad knowledge of the available linear and nonlinear control strategies ranging from simple PID control to Model-based Predictive Control and Sliding Mode Control. Moreover, in its own R&D INDUCT elaborates on the PhD of Tom Coen (INDUCT founder and Managing Director) which deals with building high performance controllers for processes with a time-variable input material (such as crops or iron ore).
Measurement technology
INDUCT has experience with a wide range of measurement techniques such as strain gauges, accelerometers, capacitive sensors, load cells, inductive sensors, etc. You can outsource the entire project, or simply use our equipment. We can rent or sell you the sensors and the measurement system so that you can do the work yourself. Thanks to our easy-to-use interface you can start measuring the minute the system arrives.
System identification
Control is only possible with a good knowledge of how the system works. Depending on the selected control methodology, the requirements of the system model will change. At INDUCT we have expertise of a.o. time-domain system identification (ARX, ARMAX, OE,…), frequency domain, statistical techniques (such as PLS) and a number of nonlinear system identification techniques (including neural networks). Often we use our system identification expertise to build a soft sensor, i.e. a prediction of a variable that cannot be measured online based on measurable variables.
Time-variable material
In its R&D road map INDUCT pays special attention to processes of which the incoming material flow is time-variable. In order to design a controller that performs well on a system with a time-variable model, the model uncertainty needs to be modeled. The foundation for this approach has already been laid in the PhD of Tom Coen concerning Stochastic MPC on harvesting machinery.
Sensors and actuators
Sensors and actuators are often an essential part of the overall concept. A better sensor or actuator allows for easier control, but often this sensor or actuator will be more expensive. INDUCT will make the trade-off between the cost reduction and the increased design complexity. INDUCT has a good relationship with a number of sensor and actuator manufacturers which enables us to make the best overall design choice.
Rapid prototyping
INDUCT engineers are experts in a.o. LabView and Matlab. Since we are a National Instruments Alliance member, our own Rapid Prototyping equipment largely consists of National Instruments hardware. However, when required we use Matlab (or Simulink), or even a combination of Matlab and LabView.
Commercial implementation of automation solutions
Some commercial implementations on for instance NI hardware, DSP or microcontroller can be directly generated from LabView (or Matlab) code. More information about that you can find here. INDUCT can also deliver solutions in for instance C-code or ladder logic (for PLCs). If you need your solution in another programming language, please consult us.
