ECE 488Multivariable Control Systems
- Units
- 0.50
- Faculty
- Engineering
When it runs
- F24
- W25
- S25
- F25
- W26
- S26
- F26
- W27
- S27
Ran in 2 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 2 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.
Review of feedback control design fundamentals; SISO controller parameterizations; the fundamental effect of MIMO interaction; introduction to state-space models in continuous and discrete time; SISO techniques for MIMO design; optimal control; model-predictive control design; state estimation; decoupling, MIMO PID control design; applications in areas such as aerospace systems.
Prerequisites
- Complete all of the following
- Students must be in level 4A or higher
- Complete 1 of the following
- Complete all of the following
- Must have completed the following:
- ECE380 - Analog Control Systems (0.50)
- Enrolled in H-Computer Engineering, or H-Electrical Engineering
- Must have completed the following:
- Complete all of the following
- Must have completed the following:
- ME360 - Introduction to Control Systems (0.50)
- Enrolled in H-Mechanical Engineering, or Mechatronics Option
- Must have completed the following:
- Complete all of the following
- Must have completed the following:
- MTE360 - Automatic Control Systems (0.50)
- Enrolled in H-Mechatronics Engineering
- Must have completed the following:
- Complete all of the following
- Must have completed the following:
- SE380 - Introduction to Feedback Control (0.50)
- Enrolled in H-Software Engineering
- Must have completed the following:
- Complete all of the following
- Must have completed the following:
- SYDE352 - Introduction to Control Systems (0.50)
- Enrolled in H-Systems Design Engineering
- Must have completed the following:
- Complete all of the following
Antirequisites
None listed.
Leads to
No course lists it as a requisite.
Winter 2027 sections
| Section | Class | Enrolled | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | 4531 | 0 / 140 | MF 14:30–15:50 Jan 27 16:00–17:20 Feb 24 16:00–17:20 Mar 17 16:00–17:20 Apr 7 16:00–17:20 |
| LEC 701 | 1838 | 52 / 9999 | Online or by arrangement |
| TUT 101 | 4532 | 0 / 140 | M 20:00–20:50 |
Reviewed on UW Flow
91% liked it36% easy96% useful
From 11 ratings and 5 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.
Very easy after ECE484. The optimisation and multivariable sides were almost replaced by basic SISO concepts.
Jan 2026 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
Good to take if you want more controls/want to use your controls knowledge after your degree. Uses real-world examples and explains how different parts of a control system affects the system it is controlling. I found assessments difficult but doable and the marking scheme works in your favour.
Aug 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
Very useful course if you're planning to work in industry or continue with graduate studies in control systems. This course really consolidates your understanding of SISO control, and everything builds up logically to MIMO and state-space methods.
Mark breakdown is 50% final exam, 2x 1-hour term tests worth 30%, 3x control projects worth a total of 20%. No midterms or weekly assignments.
The professor is probably one of the best lecturers I had during my undergrad. Very detailed notes and also provides pre-recorded lecture videos.Apr 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
An amazing controls course overall. You really only need to have completed one introductory controls course to do really well in this class. However, most students entering have already completed at least 2. The course begins with a review of controls 1 which is very helpful. The first half of the course is focused on performance limitations with SISO control. The multivariable component only begins in the second half and includes both classical control and state space techniques. Assignments are marked very leniently and there are no labs. Overall, this is an absolutely amazing course that makes you appreciate controls much more.
Apr 2020 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
Very useful if you want to know more about control. However, this reversed lecture ( can't remember what it is called exactly), watching recorded videos after school and do exercises during the class, is not my type. It's just like a online course
Sep 2018 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this
Discussed on r/uwaterloo
13 posts and comments in 11 threads mention ECE 488, November 2016 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.
Winter 2023
How manageable is this workload? CS AI spec 4 points, 28 comments
u/tendstwofiftytwo: “… hardware, so I took ECE124 in 1B, chose to switch to AI spec, as this opened SE380 -> ECE 488 Multivariable control systems) &x200B; So my question is this workload manageable I am open to overloading a mid level CS course. …”
Fall 2022
Is ECE 488 Multivariable Control Systems really hard? 1 point, 0 comments
Spring 2022
A GUIDE ON HOW TO PLAN AN OPTION 29 points, 15 comments
u/1000Ditto: “… 260| |4A (3)\[S\]|D|ME 220| |4A (4)\[S\]|G|ME 321| |4B (1)\[W\]|G|ME 322| |4B (2)\[W\]|E|ECE 488| |4B (3)\[W\]|C|ME 269| |4B (4)\[W\]||Another ECE 406-ECE 495 (TE Note 2)| |||| |||| &x200B; 7. …”
Winter 2022
Undergrad courses I've taken tier list (details in comments) 161 points, 13 comments
u/MindTheGap9: “… - ECE488 - <3 Dan Davison, any marks I lost in this course were due to my own incompetence and not the course design, one of those exams where you walk out like "oh damn I should have known all of that" - ECON332 - This is the only course I've taken where half way during the …”
Spring 2021
What are Best/Worst courses you took during the two Online years? 21 points, 45 comments
u/Plane_Razzmatazz_143: “Best Courses: ECE 488 (Prof. Davison), MUSIC 140, MUSIC 240 (Prof. Wood), ECE 463 (Prof. Kazerani) All three profs were legendary! They had every little thing preplanned and structured to handle an online term effectively. …”
Fall 2020
Upper years and anyone else really ,what is ECE 4B like? 8 points, 8 comments
u/Plane_Razzmatazz_143: “… So I took the following courses: ECE 464 - High Voltage Engineering and Power System Protection (Prof Sheshakamal Jayaram) ECE 488 - Multivariable Control Systems (Prof Dan Davison) MUSIC 246 - Soundtracks: Music in Film (Prof Simon Wood) CLAS 104 - Classical Mythology (Prof Ron …”
u/mathematicalengineer: “I took ECE 488 and it was an amazing course with Davison. He's one of the best profs I've ever had. …”
u/mathematicalengineer: “The first 2 chapters (Chapter 1 of his notes is just the Introduction for the first day) of ECE 488 is mostly review of content that you likely saw from your first controls course. …”
ECE 488 2 points, 0 comments
u/Plane_Razzmatazz_143: “Hey guys, just wondering if anyone here has taken ECE 488 with Prof Daniel Davison ? What is the course like? I hear it is really hard but was wondering what part of it makes it hard? Moreover, should I look over Matlab before next term? …”
Need some advice from ECE fellows 2 points, 12 comments
“Hi there, I am a forth year student in math faculty who got a lot of interest in control/signal processing stuff. …”
u/realbrokenlantern: “… There are more math-involved courses in ECE that are also related to robotics like ECE 413, 481, 484, 486 and 488 (check out https://ucalendar.uwaterloo.ca/2021/COURSE/course-ECE.html) so I recommend you take one of those if you want to work specifically on controls or signal …”
Fall 2019
4B Engineering Course Load 4 points, 2 comments
u/Weak-Resolution: “… FYDP ME 547: Robot Manipulators MTE 544: Autonomous Mobile Robots MTE 546: Multi-sensor Data Fusion SYDE 522: Machine Intelligence ECE 488: Multivariable Control Systems”
Winter 2019
What is the TLDR of the course you’re currently studying for? 31 points, 33 comments
“I'll start TL;DR of KIN 427 - Low Back Disorders: Sitting for too long is not good for you. Standing for too long is not good for you. Therefore do both. Also don’t lift stuff with your back flexed.”
u/SometimesICryAtNight: “ece 488 - multivariate controls tl;dr: You can control multiple outputs with multiple inputs. Sometimes, you can do it optimally.”
Fall 2016
What are the easiest ATEs for Software Engineering Students? 3 points, 3 comments
u/uobhsarp: “… for Performance ECE 481 Digital Control Systems ECE 486 Robot Dynamics and Control ECE 488 Multivariable Control Systems Any suggestions are highly appreciated! Except suggestions for CS 452, CS 444 and CS 488. …”
Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026
- Undergraduate Calendar, 2026–27The official entry
- Requirements for Fall 2026Waterloo’s requisite checker
- Schedule of Classes, Fall 2026Instructors, rooms, live seats
- Quest Class SearchWhere you enrol
- Course outlinesSyllabi from past terms (UW login)
- UW FlowStudent ratings and reviews
- WClassesPast sections back to 2004, and who taught them