In the field of control theory, compensators are used when a control design does not meet the intended design specifications. Some examples of these design specifications could be percent overshoot (P.O.), settling time (Ts), steady-state error (ess) for a specified system type, gain margin (G.M.), and phase margin (P.M.). This paper will deal with continuous-time compensators. This paper will discuss a compensator graphical user interface (GUI) implemented using Matlab. This GUI enables the user to design a compensator using two different methods. The first method is through the use of the root locus. The second method is through the use of a Bode plot. The root locus method is used in the time domain while the Bode plot is used in the frequency domain. By making both the root locus and Bode plot available on the GUI, the user can take advantage of the features of each design method in order to meet the desired design specifications.

Paper presented to the 3rd Annual Symposium on Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects (GRASP) held at the Hughes Metropolitan Complex, Wichita State University, April 27, 2007.Research completed at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering Department of System Engineering,U.S. Naval Academy,Wichita state university.