A plant model is a mathematical representation of the dynamic system being controlled, mapping control inputs and disturbances to the system’s state and outputs over time. Usually expressed as differential equations, transfer functions, or state-space form, it captures how the plant responds so a controller can be designed and tuned against it. Accurate plant models are central to control theory and to model-based control synthesis and simulation.
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- The model relates inputs to outputs through state-space or transfer-function representations, enabling stability analysis, controller design, and simulation before deployment on hardware. Model fidelity governs control performance: unmodelled dynamics and parameter error degrade tracking and robustness, which motivates system identification and robust or adaptive control techniques that tolerate model uncertainty.