A curated list of online materials, libraries, and simulators to explore, model, and experiment with control systems across domains. Most are Python-friendly or have usable APIs, many run headless in Colab.
| Name & Link | Description |
| Python Control Library | Core library for linear system analysis, simulation, and design. |
| CVXPY | Convex optimization language for MPC, LQR, and estimation problems. |
| MuJoCo | Fast physics engine for robotics and continuous control; Colab-ready. |
| Gymnasium (Classic Control) | Standard benchmark envs (CartPole, Pendulum, MountainCar, etc.). |
| Webots | Open-source multi-robot simulator with Gym wrapper. |
| AirSim (Microsoft) | Photorealistic car and drone simulator (Unreal Engine). |
| SUMO | Microscopic traffic simulator with Python ‘traci‘ API. |
| CityFlow | Lightweight traffic-light simulator; Colab-friendly. |
| Highway-Env | Simple highway and intersection envs for autonomous driving. |
| Flow (Berkeley) | RL SUMO framework for traffic flow control experiments. |
| PyPower | Power-system load-flow and OPF solver in Python. |
| Pandapower | ACDC power-flow analysis and network optimization. |
| do-mpc | MPC framework with process-control demos (CSTR, HVAC). |
| Tennessee Eastman Process | Benchmark for process control and fault detection. |
| BOPTEST | Building-performance benchmarks for HVAC MPC. |
| EnergyPlus Python API | Building-energy simulation for smart-city control studies. |
| Safety Gymnasium | RLcontrol environments with safety and constraint handling. |
| PyFMI | Runs FMU-based industrial models through FMI interface. |
| JModelica.org | Platform for dynamic-system simulation. |
| PyRoomAcoustics | Acoustic propagation and active-noise-control experiments. |
| OpenSeesPy | Structural and seismic dynamics simulation for vibration control. |
| PySPH | Smoothed-particle hydrodynamics for fluid-flow control studies. |
| Dedalus | PDE-based spectral solver for flow and wave-control research. |
| Parcels | Ocean-particle simulator for flow or drifter-path control. |
| Mesa | Agent-based modeling framework (markets, epidemics, logistics). |
| ABIDES | Market-microstructure simulator for feedback and regulation studies. |
| NetworkX Dynamics | Graph models for consensus, diffusion, and epidemic control. |
| PettingZoo | Multi-agent RL environments for decentralized control. |
| Vadere | Crowd and evacuation simulation for pedestrian-flow control. |
| SimPy | Discrete-event simulation of queues, logistics, and service systems. |
| QuTiP | Quantum systems simulation and control of qubits. |
| Dymos | Trajectory optimization toolkit for dynamic systems. |
| LAMMPS | Molecular-dynamics simulator with Python interface. |
| K-Wave | Acoustic wave-field simulator (Python bindings). |
| MATSim | Agent-based urban mobility simulation (Java Python API). |
| SuperCollider via Python | Generative-audio synthesis treated as dynamical-system control. |
| Neuromancer | Framework for differentiable control and learning-based optimization in PyTorch. |
| Robotarium | Georgia Tech’s remotely accessible swarm-robot lab — run real experiments online. |
| PyBullet | Real-time simulator for drones, manipulators, and quadrupeds. |
| Cortical Labs CL1 | Hybrid biological–silicon neural computing platform for embodied control experiments. |