A robust and self-tuning speed control for permanent magnet synchronous motors via meta-heuristic optimization

In a reconfigurable manufacturing scenario, control system design needs innovative approaches to face the rapid changes in hardware and software modules. The control system should be able to automatically tune its parameters to enhance machine performances and dynamically adapt to different control objectives (e.g., minimize control efforts or maximize tracking performances) while preserving at the same time stability and robustness properties. In this paper, a robust control system for permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs), together with an online self-tuning method, is presented. In particular, a robust discrete-time variable structure control (VSC) has been designed. A heuristic bio-inspired approach has been then implemented on a digital signal processor (DSP) to find the VSC parameter set which minimizes a specific objective function each time a novel speed reference is provided. Experimental results on a PMSM motor show the effectiveness of the proposed controller and tuning method, with noticeable improvements with respect to the original manufacturer-designed controller.