A Semantic Web-based Learning Environment for Control Engineering Education

This paper describes the design and development of a Semantic Web-based learning environment for control engineering education, in particular in the field of lead-lag controller design with the root locus method. The environment is composed of three subsystems: First, a knowledge based system devoted to the generation of solved and “semantically-enriched” exercises. Second, a Semantic Web based system for the automatic annotation, persistence, search and retrieval of exercises over the Internet. And third, an application working as a graphical user interface that shows and gives explanations about the design process using the very rich information available for each exercise. The first and third subsystems have, as their core component, a domain ontology reflecting the concepts, relationships and tasks involved in the design of controllers, plus a rule engine devoted to the execution of the design process reflected in the ontology. The second subsystem also works around an ontology whose concepts are the source of the terms for the annotation of the exercises. The paper shows the architectural design of the system, its functionalities and a number of advantages obtained with its use regarding learning purposes.