Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

A practical guide to PID controller implementation

Sundström, Emil LU orcid ; Bauer, Margret ; Guzmán, José Luis ; Hägglund, Tore LU orcid and Soltesz, Kristian LU orcid (2026) In International Journal of Control
Abstract
How difficult can it be to implement a PID controller? The answer is twofold. Implementing the PID control law is simple and computationally inexpensive. However, this basic form will not work in practical applications. The primary reason for this is the various physical limitations of the actuator. Measurement noise, different implementations depending on the various structures (P, PI, PD or PID), bumpless transfer, and varying sampling interval also result in problems rendering the basic form inoperable. PID implementation is therefore more difficult than meets the eye. This paper introduces a reference implementation of the PID controller which considers these practical issues. It includes pseudo-code, discussion of the implementation... (More)
How difficult can it be to implement a PID controller? The answer is twofold. Implementing the PID control law is simple and computationally inexpensive. However, this basic form will not work in practical applications. The primary reason for this is the various physical limitations of the actuator. Measurement noise, different implementations depending on the various structures (P, PI, PD or PID), bumpless transfer, and varying sampling interval also result in problems rendering the basic form inoperable. PID implementation is therefore more difficult than meets the eye. This paper introduces a reference implementation of the PID controller which considers these practical issues. It includes pseudo-code, discussion of the implementation choices and simulation of carefully selected, important test cases. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
in press
subject
in
International Journal of Control
publisher
Taylor & Francis
ISSN
0020-7179
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
bfdb6efa-8282-453a-9df5-9e9a3b6bb76d
alternative location
https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.15918
date added to LUP
2026-07-13 12:51:51
date last changed
2026-09-01 14:50:22
@article{bfdb6efa-8282-453a-9df5-9e9a3b6bb76d,
  abstract     = {{How difficult can it be to implement a PID controller? The answer is twofold. Implementing the PID control law is simple and computationally inexpensive. However, this basic form will not work in practical applications. The primary reason for this is the various physical limitations of the actuator. Measurement noise, different implementations depending on the various structures (P, PI, PD or PID), bumpless transfer, and varying sampling interval also result in problems rendering the basic form inoperable. PID implementation is therefore more difficult than meets the eye. This paper introduces a reference implementation of the PID controller which considers these practical issues. It includes pseudo-code, discussion of the implementation choices and simulation of carefully selected, important test cases.}},
  author       = {{Sundström, Emil and Bauer, Margret and Guzmán, José Luis and Hägglund, Tore and Soltesz, Kristian}},
  issn         = {{0020-7179}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{International Journal of Control}},
  title        = {{A practical guide to PID controller implementation}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/255422876/manuscript.pdf}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}