Best Advanced Process Control (APC) Systems with a Free Trial of 2025

The Model Predictive Control Toolbox™ offers a comprehensive suite of functions, an intuitive app, Simulink® blocks, and practical reference examples to facilitate the development of model predictive control (MPC) systems. It caters to linear challenges by enabling the creation of implicit, explicit, adaptive, and gain-scheduled MPC strategies. For more complex nonlinear scenarios, users can execute both single-stage and multi-stage nonlinear MPC. Additionally, this toolbox includes deployable optimization solvers and permits the integration of custom solvers. Users can assess the effectiveness of their controllers through closed-loop simulations in MATLAB® and Simulink environments. For applications in automated driving, the toolbox also features MISRA C®- and ISO 26262-compliant blocks and examples, allowing for a swift initiation of projects related to lane keep assist, path planning, path following, and adaptive cruise control. You have the capability to design implicit, gain-scheduled, and adaptive MPC controllers that tackle quadratic programming (QP) problems, and you can generate an explicit MPC controller derived from an implicit design. Furthermore, the toolbox supports discrete control set MPC for handling mixed-integer QP challenges, thus broadening its applicability in diverse control systems. With these extensive features, the toolbox ensures that both novice and experienced users can effectively implement advanced control strategies.

Advanced Process Control (APC) provides a highly efficient solution for enhancing your plant's performance without requiring any hardware modifications. By implementing an APC application, you can stabilize operations while simultaneously optimizing production or energy usage, leading to a deeper insight into your production processes. This term encompasses a wide array of methods and technologies that complement fundamental process control systems, which are primarily constructed using PID controllers. Some examples of APC technologies include LQR, LQC, H_infinity, neural networks, fuzzy logic, and Model-Based Predictive Control (MPC). An APC application continually optimizes plant operations every minute, round-the-clock, seven days a week, ensuring consistent efficiency. Among these technologies, MPC stands out as the most widely adopted within the industry, as it utilizes a process model to forecast the plant's behavior for the near future, typically ranging from a few minutes to several hours ahead, thus providing a strategic advantage in operational planning. Through the continual refinement of processes, APC not only improves efficiency but also contributes to long-term sustainability goals.

A closed-loop universal multivariable optimizer is designed to enhance both the performance and quality of Model Predictive Control (MPC) systems. This optimizer utilizes data from Excel files sourced from Dynamic Matrix Control (DMC) by Aspen Tech, Robust Model Predictive Control Technology (RMPCT) from Honeywell, or Predict Pro from Emerson to develop and refine accurate models for various multivariable-controller variable (MV-CV) pairs. This innovative optimization technology eliminates the need for step tests typically required by Aspen Tech and Honeywell, operating entirely within the time domain while remaining user-friendly, compact, and efficient. Given that Model Predictive Controls (MPC) can encompass tens or even hundreds of dynamic models, the possibility of incorrect models is a significant concern. The presence of inaccurate dynamic models in MPCs leads to bias, which is identified as model prediction error, manifesting as discrepancies between predicted signals and actual measurements from sensors. COLUMBO serves as a powerful tool to enhance the accuracy of Model Predictive Control (MPC) models, effectively utilizing either open-loop or fully closed-loop data to ensure optimal performance. By addressing the potential for errors in dynamic models, COLUMBO aims to significantly improve overall control system effectiveness.