MECH&AE 171A
Introduction to Feedback and Control Systems: Dynamic Systems Control I
Description: Lecture, four hours; discussion, two hours; outside study, six hours. Enforced requisite: course 107. Introduction to feedback principles, control systems design, and system stability. Modeling of physical systems in engineering and other fields; transform methods; controller design using Nyquist, Bode, and root locus methods; compensation; computer-aided analysis and design. Letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2024 - Having taken 107 a year prior, I was initially apprehensive about what to expect for this class, in particular the mathematical rigour. However, let me assuage your fears if you’re also in my shoes entering the course - most of the difficult math is past. Definitely have a rudimentary knowledge of complex numbers and complex analysis, but the intense calculus requirement for 107 is notably absent. This is not to say 171A is by any means easy. I would argue in some ways it is more difficult than 107 because it is more conceptual. ** The grading scheme was 15% HW, 40% midterm, and 45% final, and up to 5% extra credit. The extra credit was awarded through in-class quizzes (which definitely incentivised me to get out of bed at 8 AM). Essentially, you would get full credit for answering correctly, half credit for answering incorrectly, and no credit if no attempt was made. I highly recommend going to lecture for this reason, as a 5% boost at the end of the quarter will do wonders to your final grade. The quiz questions for the most part were not particularly difficult, either. ** The first bit of the class was a review of the modelling aspects of 107 as well as Laplace transforms and transfer functions. Then we moved onto frequency domain representations of systems. Get really proficient at sketching Bode, Nyquist, and root locus plots as they’ll be used extensively in the middle part of the class. And don’t rely on computer software like MATLAB or WolframAlpha either because those are forbidden on exams. At the end, we learned about some canonical controllers like PID and lead/lag compensators. ** We had 8 homeworks in total, and they were all fairly time consuming, although informative, and not unnecessarily difficult. I felt that seriously treating the homework assignments and diligently attending office hours was sufficient in doing well on the exams. The exams were of similar difficulty to the homework, and Franco provided her old practice exams so you could get a feel for what to expect. The midterm had around a 78 average, but the final was only a 52. Personally, I felt confident walking out of the final exam, but after checking the feedback it turns out they graded much more harshly. But again, if you attended a majority of the lectures and completed those extra credit quizzes it was more than enough to offset a poor performance. ** Overall, the class is definitely one of the harder MAE upper divs, but it’s more than manageable, especially compared to 107. From what I’ve heard, you can’t really go wrong with any of the other 171A professors too, but if Franco is teaching again in the future, I will definitely recommend her class!
Spring 2024 - Having taken 107 a year prior, I was initially apprehensive about what to expect for this class, in particular the mathematical rigour. However, let me assuage your fears if you’re also in my shoes entering the course - most of the difficult math is past. Definitely have a rudimentary knowledge of complex numbers and complex analysis, but the intense calculus requirement for 107 is notably absent. This is not to say 171A is by any means easy. I would argue in some ways it is more difficult than 107 because it is more conceptual. ** The grading scheme was 15% HW, 40% midterm, and 45% final, and up to 5% extra credit. The extra credit was awarded through in-class quizzes (which definitely incentivised me to get out of bed at 8 AM). Essentially, you would get full credit for answering correctly, half credit for answering incorrectly, and no credit if no attempt was made. I highly recommend going to lecture for this reason, as a 5% boost at the end of the quarter will do wonders to your final grade. The quiz questions for the most part were not particularly difficult, either. ** The first bit of the class was a review of the modelling aspects of 107 as well as Laplace transforms and transfer functions. Then we moved onto frequency domain representations of systems. Get really proficient at sketching Bode, Nyquist, and root locus plots as they’ll be used extensively in the middle part of the class. And don’t rely on computer software like MATLAB or WolframAlpha either because those are forbidden on exams. At the end, we learned about some canonical controllers like PID and lead/lag compensators. ** We had 8 homeworks in total, and they were all fairly time consuming, although informative, and not unnecessarily difficult. I felt that seriously treating the homework assignments and diligently attending office hours was sufficient in doing well on the exams. The exams were of similar difficulty to the homework, and Franco provided her old practice exams so you could get a feel for what to expect. The midterm had around a 78 average, but the final was only a 52. Personally, I felt confident walking out of the final exam, but after checking the feedback it turns out they graded much more harshly. But again, if you attended a majority of the lectures and completed those extra credit quizzes it was more than enough to offset a poor performance. ** Overall, the class is definitely one of the harder MAE upper divs, but it’s more than manageable, especially compared to 107. From what I’ve heard, you can’t really go wrong with any of the other 171A professors too, but if Franco is teaching again in the future, I will definitely recommend her class!
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Most Helpful Review
I took 107 and 171A with him and I am here to do my little dance and tell you that you wont be able to take his class because he went back to Israel. ha ha ha anyway he is great. possibly the best lecturer evar. and disregard the advice in the other review because, well you know why. oh and he was a dick in his office but i dont think he meant it. he is really nice but he's got a borat issue (where he says stuff but it turns out it doesn't really mean when he thinks it means, etc...)
I took 107 and 171A with him and I am here to do my little dance and tell you that you wont be able to take his class because he went back to Israel. ha ha ha anyway he is great. possibly the best lecturer evar. and disregard the advice in the other review because, well you know why. oh and he was a dick in his office but i dont think he meant it. he is really nice but he's got a borat issue (where he says stuff but it turns out it doesn't really mean when he thinks it means, etc...)
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2020 - Iwasaki is an incredible professor. He went though everything step by step and made it all super clear, did tons of example problems, and connected everything to actual physical examples. The homework was good practice and reasonable, the only issue was that exams were pretty tough. Still, I 100% taking this class with this professor.
Winter 2020 - Iwasaki is an incredible professor. He went though everything step by step and made it all super clear, did tons of example problems, and connected everything to actual physical examples. The homework was good practice and reasonable, the only issue was that exams were pretty tough. Still, I 100% taking this class with this professor.
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