The 2 DOF Ball Balancer module is a vision-based control experiment designed to teach intermediate to advanced control concepts. You can use it to demonstrate real-world control challenges encountered in vision-based motion platforms, such as pan-tilt cameras.
The 2 DOF Ball Balancer is based on two Rotary Servo Base Units. Using this experiment, students can take what they learned in the one-dimensional Ball and Beam experiment, and apply it to the X-Y planar case.
The 2 DOF Ball Balancer module consists of a plate on which a ball can be placed and is free to move. Two Rotary Servo Base Units are connected to the sides of the plate using 2 DOF gimbals. The plate can swivel about in any direction. By controlling the position of the servo load gears, the tilt angle of the plate can be adjusted to balance the ball to a desired planar position.
The digital camera mounted overhead captures two-dimensional images of the plate and track coordinates of the ball in real time. Images are transferred quickly to the PC via a FireWire connection. Students can make the ball track various trajectories (a circle, for example), or even stabilize the ball when it is thrown onto the plate using the controller provided with the experiment.
The 3 DOF Helicopter experiment provides a benchtop model of a Tandem rotor helicopter. It can be used to understand and develop control laws for a vehicle that has dynamics representative of a dual rotor rigid body helicopter, or any device with similar dynamics.
The 2 DOF Inverted Pendulum/Gantry module is ideal to introduce more advanced principles of robotics. You can use it to demonstrate real-world control challenges encountered in aerospace engineering applications, such as rocket stabilization during takeoff.
The principles demonstrated by the Quanser 3 DOF Gyroscope are relevant in technologies used to control orientation in sea, air and space vehicles.
