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Design and Implementation of a Ball-Plate Control System and Python Script for Educational Purposes in STEM Technologies

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Design and Implementation of a Ball-Plate Control System and Python Script for Educational Purposes in STEM Technologies
Authors: Vladimir Tudić, Damir Kralj, Josip Hoster, Tomislav Tropčić
Source: Sensors, Vol 22, Iss 1875, p 1875 (2022)
Publisher Information: MDPI AG
Publication Year: 2022
Collection: Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles
Subject Terms: Ball-Plate System, STEM, USB HD camera, Python scripts, ready-made functions, PID controller, Chemical technology, TP1-1185
Description: This paper presents the process of designing, fabricating, assembling, programming and optimizing a prototype nonlinear mechatronic Ball-Plate System (BPS) as a laboratory platform for engineering education STEM. Due to the nonlinearity and complexity of BPS, the task presents challenges such as: (1) difficulty in controlling the stabilization of a particular position point, known as steady-state error, (2) position resolution, known as specific distance error, and (3) adverse environmental effects—light-shadow error, which is also discussed in this paper. The laboratory prototype BPS for education was designed, manufactured and installed at Karlovac University of Applied Sciences in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics program. The low-cost two-degree BPS uses a USB HD camera for computer vision as a feedback sensor and two DC servo motors as actuators. Due to control problems, an advanced block diagram of the control system is proposed and discussed. An open-source control system based on Python scripts, which allows the use of ready-made functions from the library, allows the color of the ball and the parameters of the PID controller to be changed, indirectly simplifying the control system and performing mathematical calculations directly. The authors will continue their research on this BPS mechatronic platform and control algorithms.
Document Type: article in journal/newspaper
Language: English
Relation: https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/5/1875; https://doaj.org/toc/1424-8220; https://doaj.org/article/02a5de181b594f62ba2073122ae04812
DOI: 10.3390/s22051875
Availability: https://doi.org/10.3390/s22051875
https://doaj.org/article/02a5de181b594f62ba2073122ae04812
Accession Number: edsbas.85ABA9A4
Database: BASE
Description
Abstract:This paper presents the process of designing, fabricating, assembling, programming and optimizing a prototype nonlinear mechatronic Ball-Plate System (BPS) as a laboratory platform for engineering education STEM. Due to the nonlinearity and complexity of BPS, the task presents challenges such as: (1) difficulty in controlling the stabilization of a particular position point, known as steady-state error, (2) position resolution, known as specific distance error, and (3) adverse environmental effects—light-shadow error, which is also discussed in this paper. The laboratory prototype BPS for education was designed, manufactured and installed at Karlovac University of Applied Sciences in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics program. The low-cost two-degree BPS uses a USB HD camera for computer vision as a feedback sensor and two DC servo motors as actuators. Due to control problems, an advanced block diagram of the control system is proposed and discussed. An open-source control system based on Python scripts, which allows the use of ready-made functions from the library, allows the color of the ball and the parameters of the PID controller to be changed, indirectly simplifying the control system and performing mathematical calculations directly. The authors will continue their research on this BPS mechatronic platform and control algorithms.
DOI:10.3390/s22051875