| Frequently Asked Questions (or Questions that should be asked) A detailed description of CogniSim is filed for patent under: Predictive Control System and Method United States Patent Application: 20030163296 However, a simplified explanation is provided in the following link. Why would I want to use a CogniSim MC2M ? Apart from the technical benefits described in the CogniSim section, there are many other systemic and process benefits that a CogniSim MC2M system can provide to an organization. 1) CogniSim has at its core a simulation engine. The MC2M also provides an additional embedded simulation of the load which can be configured in a loop-back test and development mode. This allows the user to test the motor drive very accurately in real time without the real power circuit in operation. This enables convenient debugging of an application as well as production testing to be supported in products using CogniSim; an important benefit in the typical engineering design environment. 2)Since all CogniSim controllers are structured similarly, Zetacon will be able provide long term support tools that offer common functionality between traditionally separate product segments. Users of CogniSim will be able to maximize re-use and minimize the overhead of redesign and re-engineering. 3) CogniSim is designed to be portable, flexible and reusable, even when the processor speed, or quality specification, or load system and power circuit changes. Since we live in a world of constant change, this flexibility will allow CogniSim to survive. As new, faster processors become available, CogniSim will be able to produce better power quality or greater functionality at the same power quality, within the newer processing engine. What role will CogniSim have in the emerging markets? CogniSim offers intense opportunity for managing integration of complex applications using multiple power control systems. For example, CogniSim sensorless induction motor control offers advantages in wind power generation, micro-hydro, electric vehicles ,hydrogen compressor drives, grid-connect, active front-end systems, power supplies, UPS's etc. Taken separately, these emerging market applications are difficult to manage with traditional power electronic strategies because so many complex interactions need to be considered, designed and tested. CogniSim offers the opportunity to unify, simplify and automate the design and verification process with significant savings as a major result. Why is CogniSim's embedded simulation capability important? Simulation software for power electronics systems has come a long way in the past twenty years. As a result, the incorporation of simulation in the design/verification process has become the cornerstone of modern power engineering quality assurance. In the typical design process, the simulation is handled as a separate task, the intent, of which, is to verify the performance of the new design prior to production. In practice, the simulation requires considerable interactive effort to make it reflect reality. However, even after the extensive simulation effort has been completed, changes typically occur during the production process and, if these changes are not re-simulated and re-verified, the quality assurance objective is lost. CogniSim is fundamentally different! The embedded simulation is the control and, as such, it is carried throughout the design and production processes. This prevents the critical quality assurance link from being broken and sustains the significant engineering investment already made. As an added bonus, the separate and engineering intensive control design effort typically required is significantly reduced because the embedded simulation replaces it. Why is CogniSim's embedded power quality criteria important? As one important part of the traditional simulation process, the power quality and performance requirements are driven to meet the customer's needs. Meeting the customer's power quality and performance requirements is a fundamental objective of any design goal, and simulation is the verification method in this instance as well. In the real world, these criteria also tend to evolve over time, and in the absence of a mechanism that allows reuse, such evolution inevitably translates to the need for a complete engineering redesign effort and the associated costs. Again, CogniSim is fundamentally different! Because it simulates the consequence of a switch change and uses criteria to drive the switching process, it provides a mechanism to promote re-use of the design effort in new projects that have different performance objectives. Would CogniSim completely replace my simulation tools? No. However, the need for offline simulation, lab testing and verification of performance results is significantly reduced and made much simpler with CogniSim. Of note, one of the important attributes of CogniSim's simulation capability is its ability to perform complex simulation in real time with switch-mode power circuits, and it is several orders of magnitude faster than the traditional PC-based simulation tools typically used in engineering today. This advantage will meaningfully accelerate the development process.
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