Improving the Beginner’s PID – Sample Time

(This is Modification #1 in a larger series on writing a solid PID algorithm)

The Problem

The Beginner’s PID is designed to be called irregularly. This causes 2 issues:

  • You don’t get consistent behavior from the PID, since sometimes it’s called frequently and sometimes it’s not.
  • You need to do extra math computing the derivative and integral, since they’re both dependent on the change in time.

The Solution

Ensure that the PID is called at a regular interval. The way I’ve decided to do this is to specify that the compute function get called every cycle. based on a pre-determined Sample Time, the PID decides if it should compute or return immediately.

Once we know that the PID is being evaluated at a constant interval, the derivative and integral calculations can also be simplified. Bonus!

The Code

/*working variables*/
unsigned long lastTime;
double Input, Output, Setpoint;
double errSum, lastErr;
double kp, ki, kd;
int SampleTime = 1000; //1 sec
void Compute()
{
   unsigned long now = millis();
   int timeChange = (now - lastTime);
   if(timeChange>=SampleTime)
   {
      /*Compute all the working error variables*/
      double error = Setpoint - Input;
      errSum += error;
      double dErr = (error - lastErr);

      /*Compute PID Output*/
      Output = kp * error + ki * errSum + kd * dErr;

      /*Remember some variables for next time*/
      lastErr = error;
      lastTime = now;
   }
}

void SetTunings(double Kp, double Ki, double Kd)
{
  double SampleTimeInSec = ((double)SampleTime)/1000;
   kp = Kp;
   ki = Ki * SampleTimeInSec;
   kd = Kd / SampleTimeInSec;
}

void SetSampleTime(int NewSampleTime)
{
   if (NewSampleTime > 0)
   {
      double ratio  = (double)NewSampleTime
                      / (double)SampleTime;
      ki *= ratio;
      kd /= ratio;
      SampleTime = (unsigned long)NewSampleTime;
   }
}

On lines 10&11, the algorithm now decides for itself if it’s time to calculate. Also, because we now KNOW that it’s going to be the same time between samples, we don’t need to constantly multiply by time change. We can merely adjust the Ki and Kd appropriately (lines 31 & 32) and result is mathematically equivalent, but more efficient.

one little wrinkle with doing it this way though though. if the user decides to change the sample time during operation, the Ki and Kd will need to be re-tweaked to reflect this new change. that’s what lines 39-42 are all about.

Also Note that I convert the sample time to Seconds on line 29. Strictly speaking this isn’t necessary, but allows the user to enter Ki and Kd in units of 1/sec and s, rather than 1/mS and mS.

The Results

the changes above do 3 things for us

  1. Regardless of how frequently Compute() is called, the PID algorithm will be evaluated at a regular interval [Line 11]
  2. Because of the time subtraction [Line 10] there will be no issues when millis() wraps back to 0. That only happens every 55 days, but we’re going for bulletproof remember?
  3. We don’t need to multiply and divide by the timechange anymore. Since it’s a constant we’re able to move it from the compute code [lines 15+16] and lump it in with the tuning constants [lines 31+32]. Mathematically it works out the same, but it saves a multiplication and a division every time the PID is evaluated

Side note about interrupts

If this PID is going into a microcontroller, a very good argument can be made for using an interrupt. SetSampleTime sets the interrupt frequency, then Compute gets called when it’s time. There would be no need, in that case, for lines 9-12, 23, and 24. If you plan on doing this with your PID implentation, go for it! Keep reading this series though. You’ll hopefully still get some benefit from the modifications that follow.
There are three reasons I didn’t use interrupts

  1. As far as this series is concerned, not everyone will be able to use interrupts.
  2. Things would get tricky if you wanted it implement many PID controllers at the same time.
  3. If I’m honest, it didn’t occur to me. Jimmie Rodgers suggested it while proof-reading the series for me. I may decide to use interrupts in future versions of the PID library.

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23 Responses to “Improving the Beginner’s PID – Sample Time”

  1. Coding Badly says:

    I think moving the time calculations out of Compute is a good idea but it does create a potential pitfall for new users. The calculations will not be accurate if more than SampleTime has elapsed between calls. This could be difficult (or impossible) to debug. I suggest adding a check for “(grossly) exceeded SampleTime”. If the SampleTime has been exceeded, set a flag. This gives the user a convenient way to check for an overrun.

  2. Brett says:

    That’s definitely a issue that can arise. I hate flags, but that may be the best solution. I’ll have to think about it some more. Until then we’ll just have to keep our eye out for people reporting suspicious performance degradation. “…then I set my sample time to 1mS” AHA!

  3. prashant says:

    how much is ur blog applicable for a line follower robot (with 5 digital sensors) as it is?
    i mean wat changes we may hv to do ? apart from our own algorithm language n al?

    to be specific i hv 3 major questions
    1) is SetTunings method required for us?i mean til now we thot kp,ki,kd are constants and we ll give them values?n they shouldnt change their values in between right?

    2)how exactly to call compute method after certain time (say 1ms) from main ?
    u hvnt specified it on how to call it from main? n is millis() method used for it?

    n lastly

    3)how we relate output/correction with speed of motors (2)? we know that we ll hv to use PWM. we know how to do it. but we want ur word on this.

    we ll be grateful for ur help. ty

  4. somun says:

    Thanks for the write up Brett!

    One point that I have trouble understanding is the 2nd result you mention. Looks to me that your argument regarding being safe for timer wrapping to 0, does not hold. Say the lastTime is just 1 second below wrapping to zero and now() returns, say 2. Than timeChange would be a negative number which would evaluate to false in the if statement. What am I missing?

  5. Brett says:

    Somun, the trick is that now is an UNSIGNED long. so rather than having negative numbers it uses that space to allow for larger positive numbers. when you subtract 5 from 2 say, the result isn’t -3, it’s 4,294,967,292.

  6. somun says:

    I think that’s not the case unless timeChange is defined as unsigned, too (it’s an int in the code). Just tried on Visual Studio.

  7. Brett says:

    ah. with a different programming language your mileage may vary. thanks for the rigorous testing!

  8. David says:

    Jimmie Rogers is absolutely right about using interrupts. Calling from the main loop will only give you consistent timing if you have plenty of processing margin. For robustness you really want to make sure that any time critical code (such as a control loop) is called from a timer interrupt. None time sensitive code can then be left in the main loop and it doesn’t matter if it overruns.

    You are correct though; it is much, much harder to have multiple PIDs without hard-coding them in.

  9. Brett says:

    Yeah I was thinking the best solution might be to have a common interrupt set to the lowest common denominator of the sample time of the various pid loops, then using that to decide which pid needed to be computed when. But I just don’t have that kind of AVR skill. I felt I needed to include that though, because somebody is reading this right now and saying “well that’s easy! let me whip that up”

  10. somun says:

    @Brett. Well last time I checked Visual Studio was an IDE 🙂

    Anyway, it is just C/C++ behavior (Arduino compiler is a branch of gcc). When that non-negative big number is put into an int, it becomes negative due to the way 2’s complement works. Please go ahead and verify if you don’t believe me. ‘timeChange’ needs to be unsigned.

    Sorry for insisting on a small issue in a great write-up but I guess I am just trying to contribute to the bullet-proofness 🙂

  11. Eric Anderson says:

    Regarding result 2:

    If timeChange can become negative at wrap time due to conversion from unsigned to signed as stated above, the code will not just miss computing a pid, the code would permanently stop adjusting the output value.

    If timeChange is just made large when time wraps back to 0, then you may have an iteration where the output changes on a short cycle. Exactly how short would depend on the relationship between sampleTime and the the size of long. (ie. what is MAXLONG % sampleTime).

    I agree that an interrupt based solution is better, to remove or simplify the time keeping code in the PID.

  12. Brett says:

    interesting. I tested this feature by making now = millis()+ 4294960000 and letting it run, and there were no issues.

    wait. I think I know what happened. the timeChange variable was added for clarification during this explanation. initially I just had the subtraction inside the if statement. that would do it. good call guys. will need to change that to an unsigned long in the next iteration of the library.

  13. Eric Anderson says:

    How did you check? If the value goes negative, what you would see is that the output would stick on a value. Otherwise, you will get one output generated that is out of sync with your time interval (and the subsequent updates would be at the correct interval, but not in line with the previous updates).

    It all depends on how closely you need to track the time based part of the PID.

    With the code as it is (ignoring the wraparound issue), it assumes but does not force regularity. The logic says update the output if at least time interval has passed, but it computes the PID as if exactly time interval has passed.

    This may or may not be an issue depending on what it is you are controlling and how close the actual time elapsed is to the time interval.

    B.T.W. – I really do appreciate this PID overview. I am always on the look out for such things to help with training I do for FIRST robotics teams.

  14. Krille says:

    Nice…
    But I think if you add an “Window value” the library will be perfect
    If you use an servo the regulating of the servo can damiched the feedback potentiometer if you regulate to often.. So if I can have a which I wold love to have a window value… Else I will add it by my self.. 🙂

    Best regards
    Krille

  15. Jason C says:

    While on the topic of sampling time, I am wondering what are the effects different sampling time have on the performance of the PID control algorithm. e.g. Do you like reach stabilization faster with a shorter sampling time?

  16. Brett says:

    @Jason, if your sampling time is too slow it will certainly impact loop performance. as it gets faster, you will notice improvement up to a point. after this the performance will be virtually identical regardless of sample time. the value at which this occurs will be different for each system.

  17. Thomas says:

    Hello Brett,

    Thank you very much for writing such a great library and tutorial! I suppose in line 10 the expression will become negative when the overflow of millis() occurs:
    int timeChange = (now – lastTime) 0:
    if(timeChange>=SampleTime)
    Maybe you had an unsigned long for timeChange in mind, then it should work out:
    unsigned long timeChange = (now – lastTime) >0
    Cheers, Thomas

  18. Brett says:

    @Thomas Yup. there’s a discussion to that effect a little further up the comment chain. The PID Library code has been updated

  19. Thomas says:

    Sorry, there was missing something in my last comment. There should be written:
    I suppose in line 10 the expression will become negative when the overflow of millis() occurs:
    int timeChange = (now – lastTime) <0
    In this case the execution of the controller in line 11 will never happen, because 0=SampleTime)
    Maybe you had an unsigned long for timeChange in mind, then it should work out:
    unsigned long timeChange = (now – lastTime) >0
    Cheers, Thomas

  20. pid_hobby says:

    We can merely adjust the Ki and Kd appropriately (lines 30&31) and result is mathematically equivalent, but more efficient.

    error lines 30& 31

    to :
    lines 31 & 32

  21. Brett says:

    @pid_hobby fixed thanks

  22. DG says:

    Brett, how important is it that the algorithm be called on a regular schedule? I’m planning on using your algorithm in an environment (Android) that can’t guarantee that it will be called with millisecond accuracy. If the SampleTime is 15 s but there is a 16 s difference between calls wll this seriously affect the PID accuracy? Thanks.

  23. Brett says:

    @DG the variation you describe wouldn’t have a HUGE impact, and subsequent evaluations would correct mistakes made earlier on. it wouldn’t be 100% repeatable however, which can sometimes be a big issue. if you think this might be a big deal, you could leave in the time divisions I remove in this step.

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