Objectives
GENERAL OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE OF STUDY
The master's degree in Control Engineering, unique in its kind offered by Sapienza in the class of Automation Engineering (LM-25), stands out for its interdisciplinary nature and rigorous methodological approach. For this reason, this course is suitable for students with a bachelor's degree in various fields of information and industrial engineering, as well as for graduates in mathematics and physics.
Automatic control methodologies are pervasive in various fields of engineering and are often indispensable for improving the effectiveness of many advanced technologies in a multitude of application areas. In particular, for example, Automatic Control plays a strategic role in the design, control, and management of robotic systems, communication networks, transportation and conventional or alternative energy production and distribution networks, aeronautical and aerospace systems, mechatronics and automotive systems, bioengineering, healthcare systems, and critical infrastructure. These application sectors involve complex, hybrid, and uncertain processes with nonlinear and/or difficult-to-model dynamics, subject to exogenous and stochastic disturbances, which require command and control actions that are often distributed but mutually coordinated, carried out on the basis of incomplete and/or noisy information, all aspects that are addressed with the methods and techniques of automatic engineering.
The primary objective of the course is therefore to teach the fundamental methodologies of automation: modeling and identification of dynamic systems, measurement and filtering of sensory information in real time, the generalized use of feedback control to stabilize and optimize process performance, data-based feedforward learning, and the development of adaptive schemes to robustly manage large uncertainties and temporal variability, including the integration of artificial intelligence techniques. Secondly, the course aims to specify the above methodologies and implement them in appropriate devices and software, so as to make them usable and effective in the above application areas.
In other words, the methodological approach to the analysis and design of complex control systems and the ability to implement such systems taking into account the specific nature of the different application sectors are the two cornerstones of training in Control Engineering.
The course aims to provide students with interdisciplinary training and a mindset geared towards maximum versatility, which are fundamental factors for the success of master's degree graduates in most of today's and tomorrow's increasingly diverse work contexts. Other fundamental objectives of the program are the theoretical and scientific aspects necessary to describe and interpret engineering problems, such as: the development of skills in the conception, planning, design, and management of systems, processes, and services; the development of skills in experimentation and scientific innovation; and knowledge and fluent use of the English language.
Finally, it should be noted that the course has close links with the world of work, as evidenced by the large number and relevance of the applied research projects in which the teaching staff are involved, carried out in collaboration with national and international companies.
The preparation of a master's graduate in Control Engineering allows them to find employment in research and/or design and/or management contexts, both at universities and scientific research centers, and at companies (in the fields of research and development of systems and/or applications), both nationally and internationally. The international applicability of the master's degree is guaranteed by the fact that it is taught in English and by the quantity and quality of the international research relationships established by the course professors.
STRUCTURE OF THE COURSE
The educational activities offered by the course refer to the following three areas of study:
- Robotics and autonomous vehicles. This area of study aims to provide students with specialist knowledge and advanced skills to tackle the design and management of control systems in the fields of robotics, automated systems, automotive, and space. Master's degree graduates in Control Engineering will acquire an in-depth understanding of the problems and control techniques of advanced robotic systems, including manipulator and mobile robots for industrial automation and service applications, collaborative robots with human users, robots for medical applications and assisted surgery, humanoid robots, and autonomous land and air vehicles (drones).
- Control of complex networks and systems. This area of study aims to provide students with a solid understanding of the fundamental aspects of control theory and methods in the application areas of networks (energy, communication, transportation, etc.) and complex systems (critical infrastructure, health support systems, biomedical systems, emergency systems, etc.). Master's degree graduates in Control Engineering will acquire, on the one hand, the skills to model and analyze networks/systems composed of complex, heterogeneous, and interconnected physical phenomena, devices, and processes and, on the other hand, hybrid control methodologies, supported by artificial intelligence techniques, capable of meeting specific design requirements based, depending on the case, on a complete, partial, or largely incomplete knowledge of the model of the system to be controlled.
- Advanced control methods. This area of training aims to provide students with the theoretical skills necessary to conceive and design advanced control and supervision systems, ensuring the correct functioning of complex and non-linear processes in uncertain environments. Master's degree graduates in Control Engineering will be able, based on the knowledge acquired in the basic and advanced methodological courses related to this training area, to solve problems of modeling, design, management, and supervision of dynamic systems and processes, even in the presence of sampled data, disturbances, uncertainties, and delays.
The course of study is structured in such a way that the core training activities cover all three of the above-mentioned training areas. Master's degree graduates in Control Engineering will thus acquire a mindset oriented towards interdisciplinarity and versatility, one of the most qualifying objectives of this course of study.
In particular, the course of study includes compulsory training activities related to the area of ‘Advanced Control Methods’ (including the theory and control of nonlinear systems, optimal control, and identification), as these provide the theoretical and methodological foundation that is also essential to the other two areas of study.
Secondly, through the combination of core and related supplementary activities, the program allows students to place greater emphasis on a specific area of study or, at their discretion, to maintain a more balanced approach across the three areas of study. In other words, the training program offers degrees of freedom that allow students to modulate the emphasis on each of the three training areas, thus ensuring flexibility to adapt to individual interests and professional ambitions.
Finally, an essential element completing the training program is the master's thesis, which allows graduates to use the variety of methodologies and techniques acquired in an industrial or scientific field of application. Through their thesis, graduates must demonstrate mastery of the topics covered in the thesis, the ability to propose engineering solutions that are valid, if not innovative, the ability to work independently, and a level of communication that allows them to present their results clearly, both in writing and orally.
TRAINING AREAS IN RELATION TO CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
With reference to the training area on ‘Robotics and Autonomous Vehicles’, graduates can find professional opportunities in the fields of industrial automation, the design and implementation of robotic systems to improve efficiency and productivity in manufacturing industry production lines, service robotics (development of robots for domestic, commercial, and assistance applications), medical robotics (design of robots for assisted surgery and other biomedical applications), design of control systems for autonomous vehicles, driver assistance systems, development of drones and control systems for spacecraft and aircraft, etc.
With reference to the training area on ‘Control of networks and complex systems’, graduates can find professional opportunities in the fields of control, management, security, and optimization of communication networks, energy distribution (smart grids), transportation (smart cities), automation of complex industrial processes, control, security, and management of critical infrastructure, telemedicine, support for patient diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy, emergency prevention and management, etc.
With regard to the training area on “Advanced Control Methods,” graduates can find professional opportunities in all the sectors mentioned in the two previous training areas, at universities, research centers, or highly innovative companies interested in optimizing their systems by introducing the most advanced control methodologies.
Since the training program is designed to be interdisciplinary, so that each student has greater or lesser knowledge, but relevant to all three training areas, in their professional life, graduates with a master's degree in Control Engineering can move quite easily from one professional opportunity to another among those mentioned above.