Respect the Implementation: Using NI myRIO in Undergraduate Control Education

In this paper we present, due to it's low-cost, portability, and high-functionality, the National Instruments (NI) myRIO as an excellent platform for hands-on in systems and control education, from advanced to beginner courses. That said, implementing control algorithms by the beginner, especially, is not to be taken lightly on digital platforms like the myRIO. We show, using a simple electric circuit as a plant, how a student can get some catastrophic results when implementing even a simple proportional controller. These catastrophic results stem partially from discretization choice, determinism of the sampling rate, and sampling rate limitations. Throughout the paper we discuss how to enhance determinism and prevent catastrophic results by being aware of your hardware's limitations.