[viertaxa]

Can anyone recommend a “Control theory for the layman” type textbook? Specifically I’m interested in finding something that gives good overviews and examples, and while I’m not afraid of math, I’m not looking for something overly academic or advanced.

[deepspace]

The gold standard introductory book on control theory is "Feedback Control of Dynamic Systems" by Franklin, Powell and Emami-Naeini. While math is absolutely unavoidable when studying the subject, FCDS starts very gently and is quite accessible to the layman.

[laichzeit0]

For someone with a strong mathematical background, what would be a better book? Also, do you know of any that balance the theory with examples, say simulations using R?

[lmilcin]

I am using Optimal Control Theory An Introduction from Donald Kirk and Modern Control Engineering from Katsuhiko Ogata.

Both are heavy in math, but are not that difficult (I studied theoretical math some 20 years ago and I can read them).

[deepspace]

I recommend Ogata as well. Another classic.