The mission of the CST section is to develop new methods and tools in the area of Systems Theory, Control Engineering and Mechatronics. The research focuses on understanding the fundamental system properties that determine the performance of mechanical engineering systems, and exploiting this knowledge for the design of the high-tech systems of the future.

We have an internationally leading role in research, combined with inspiring education, valorisation through spin-off companies, and direct co-operation with industry.

Our overall research strategy is focused on performance-driven design and control. The performance of a controlled system is defined as the extent to which the actual behaviour of the system matches the intended behaviour, while being subject to disturbances acting on the system and variations in system dynamics. Performance requirements can be related, for instance, to the accurate tracking of a set-point (motion) or to the energy utilisation (hybrid vehicles). Fundamental properties that determine and possibly limit performance can be found in both external sources (disturbances acting on the system) and internal sources (system properties, controller properties, quality of sensors and actuators etc.). Only by an integrated design of both the mechatronic (hardware) system and the (software) controller the highest performance requirements can be achieved. 

The engineering question underlying the design problem of high-performance systems is how to find the best combination of controller and system realisation such that the performance requirements are achieved for all prescribed situations (disturbances and system variations).

The scientific question is how to exploit (model-based) insights into the fundamental properties of the system for systematic analysis and design, leading to a significant increase in the achievable performance. It is clear that the engineering question has a strong interrelationship with the scientific question, in which the former has the role of validation and inspiration for new directions of research.