Enhanced Simulation-Based Solution Prepares University Candidates for Roles in Industry
Control Station announced immediate availability of the Winter 2021 release of its LOOP-PRO Trainer Solution for Academics. This latest release of the company’s educational offering incorporates significant end-user and administrative enhancements. With its advanced simulation and modeling capabilities, LOOP-PRO Trainer looks to capitalize on growing demand for educational simulation solutions.
LOOP-PRO Trainer is a simulation-based training and skills development solution that has been an essential educational resource since its introduction in 1988. Designed for use by university faculty and their students, the solution facilitates the examination of Process Dynamics and Control which is a common field of study within Chemical Engineering and related disciplines. Within the context of teaching engineering candidates to understand dynamic process behavior, the company’s solution focuses on the role of the Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controller which remains the primary means for achieving safe, efficient control of industrial production processes. Each year LOOP-PRO Trainer is licensed to colleges and universities located in nearly 20 countries, supporting the classroom and research needs of 1,000s of future engineers.
As one of the first tools to dynamically simulate industrial processes, the software allows instructors to visually demonstrate how changes in PID controller characteristics directly affect the controllability of complex processes. Further, the software and associated curriculum enables students to develop an intuition for how different adjustments to the PID controller can be made for the purpose of optimizing performance. With industry’s growing reliance on modeling and simulation technologies, solutions like LOOP-PRO Trainer provide students with practical, first-hand experience that translates into success.
“We’ve leveraged the software at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology since 1996. Not only have students gained from its utility, both faculty and IT staff have benefited equally from Control Station’s responsiveness,” commented Atanas Serbezov PhD, Professor of Chemical Engineering. “The team at CS responds nearly immediately to any administrative issues that we encounter, and they continue to advance their solution to keep pace with our changing needs. The Winter 2021 Release is the latest example of Control Station’s innovative capabilities.”
The Winter 2021 release introduces a wholly reimagined user experience. From administrative enhancements to a new user interface, LOOP-PRO Trainer has been rebuilt to simplify use and to enable more comprehensive exploration of both process control and the PID. Chief among the product’s new features are the introduction of adjustable valve and signal characteristics, along with integration of the PID controller’s configuration settings within the UI. These enhancements allow faculty to simulate a full array of realistic situations for students investigate, offering a comprehensive view of real-world process control scenarios. The introduction of customizable simulation profiles addresses the practical need of university faculty for unique experiments that can be used with laboratory assignments and exams.
Control Station is a product of the State of Connecticut’s university system. The company was founded on the campus of the University of Connecticut in 1988. At the time it sought to capitalize on breakthroughs in computer technology and software programming languages. Shortly after its formation the company introduced one of the first interactive software products that targeted the needs of university faculty. That product would eventually be licensed to hundreds of colleges and universities worldwide. In 2004 the company moved off campus and expanded its offerings to satisfy the process diagnostic and optimization needs of process manufacturers. Today, in addition to supporting leading universities, Control Station licenses its software-based solutions to one-half of the manufacturers listed in the Fortune 500.
