PhD student Sawsan Shukri presented the paper co-written with Dr. Morcos Metry, Dr. Nagi Guler, and Dr. Wesam Rohouma titled “Performance Comparison of dSPACE and DSP MPC Implementation in PV Power Optimizer” at the IEEE Energy Conversion and Congress Exhibition poster session in Nashville, TN on October 31st.

This paper aims to bridge the gap between expensive rapid prototyping platforms (RPP) and low-cost MCUs by exploring the feasibility of rapid prototyping (RP) on the low-cost F28379D launchpad. This paper is aimed toward the practitioner or researcher who desires to reduce to practice the model predictive control (MPC) methods developed on a RPP to a lower-cost embedded controller. The suitability of a low-cost Texas Instrument (TI) launchpad to perform the same rapid-prototyping functions needed for MPC regulator development in a full-featured, high-end RPP is discussed. Experimental results using the dSPACE 1006 and the F28379D Launchpad showing steady-state performance and dynamic response are illustrated and compared.