System Identification and Controller Design of Open-loop Unstable Ball and Beam System

Balancing a Ball on a tilting beam is very interesting classical problem in the field of control system engineering. In this paper an Proportional Derivative (PD) controller has been designed for a nonlinear, open-loop unstable Ball and Beam system. The linearized system ID has been deduced via bode plot decomposition method. To create the Bode plot - first, a zero has been added very close to origin for stabilizing that unstable system. Then a set of input/output data has been generated and corresponding Lissajous patterns have been generated from those input/output data. Examining the Lissajous patterns the Bode plot has been generated. Linearized system transfer function has been found by analyzing the Bode plot. Then a PD controller has been designed for the linearized system that meets the desired design specifications. Finally the PD controller is applied on the original nonlinear plant. Success of this method is verified by extensive simulation. A digital realization of the PD controller is implemented, also.


Complete report can be found here.

Corridor Navigating Autonomous Wheelchair

This project “Corridor Navigating Autonomous Wheelchair” aims at providing corridor navigating capabilities to powered wheelchair using imaging and proximity sensors. The system analyses each frame of corridor captured by the image sensor mounted on wheelchair and generates appropriate guiding control signals to the motors of the wheelchair. The proximity sensors mounted on the device help in obstacle detection and collision avoidance and also aid in the locomotion. The system also contains manual control which can bypass the automatic controlling mechanism in case the automatic system fails or the user wishes to do so. The project consists of two versions, one with PC control and the other with FPGA control. The PC controlled version of the system has been successfully built and tested. Several simulation tests have been conducted for the FPGA version of the system.

Please find the complete report here.

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