Development of Cart Mounted Inverted Pendulum Test Bench

The project is concerned with producing a test-bench for use within Habib University as a medium to teach students about concepts of feedback and control systems. The platform will also open up opportunities for research in the domain of robotics.  It consists of an integrated&

Project Title

Development of Cart Mounted Inverted Pendulum Test Bench

Project Area of Specialization

Robotics

Project Summary

The project is concerned with producing a test-bench for use within Habib University as a medium to teach students about concepts of feedback and control systems. The platform will also open up opportunities for research in the domain of robotics. 

It consists of an integrated hardware system that will be interfaced with a computer and controlled by a microcontroller. The system can be broken down into several modules which can be labelled as the power module, actuator module, locomotive module, feedback module, controller module, and the user-end module. 

The key features of the project that allow it to stand out are that it is extremely low cost compared to market alternatives ( (Quanser and Leybold setups cost $6000 and $15000 approx. respectively), scalable to more complex configurations, modular, and has tremendous potential as a research platform. 

Project Objectives

The objective of this project is to develop a reliable, robust, and cost-effective cart-mounted inverted pendulum test-bench for utilization in the Control lab at Habib University for relevant courses (eg. Feedback and Control Systems, Computer Vision, Digital Image Processing, Introduction to Robotics etc.) 

An additional aim is to employ the test-bench for research on vision-based feedback through the use of FPGAs for image processing. Subsequently, the system will also serve as a platform providing research opportunities for future students and faculty to explore diverse aspects of control systems design, as well as to explore the challenges in vision-based real-time control of inverted pendulum systems. 

Project Implementation Method

After the initial design of the system has been finalized, the first step is to create a hardware setup for the entire system. This consists of the mechanical base, the track, the locomotion mechanism using belt and sprockets, the cart and associated bearings etc.  All the necessary electrical components I.e. the encoders, motor and microcontrollers are then installed. The system will then be programmed in order to allow the microcontrollers to detect feedback and respond accordingly to stabilize the system. 

After system stabilization has been achieved using conventional feedback methods, we will explore image processing and computer vision as a technique to achieve the same using FPGAs and/or Raspberry Pis. 

Finally, novel algorithms and techniques will be tested on the system and system efficiency will be gauged. The final step of the project is to write a paper of the obtained results and apply for publication. 

Benefits of the Project

The system is being designed at an enormously low cost compared to the solutions already available in the market, so cost-effectiveness is one major advantage.  

The primary stakeholder in this project are the future batches of students at Habib University. They will benefit as they get exposure to a classical control problem in their lab environment and will be able to experiment and enhance their understanding of the same.  

The project will also open up research avenues for both students and faculty alike, so that algorithms can be tested on the setup. Some topics that can be explored are digital image processing & computer vision, contrasting GPU and FPGA performance for control, the efficiency of a reinforcement learning based approach etc.

Since the project won’t be a black-box system like a commercially available system, it can be adapted as per the researcher or instructor requirement i.e. The system is scalable to more complex configurations and is also modular. 

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

The technical specifications of the final deliverable will be as follows: 

1. A mechanical hardware consisting of a cart mounted on a track and pendulum. The cart will be designed using thick acrylic sheet, providing durability and mutability, while also remaining light weight. The track will consist of parallel hollow steel pipes, providing the necessary tensile strength for a long track and longevity in use. Mechanical couplings will mostly consist of screws and bolts, allowing for modularity and system expansion. 

2. An actuation mechanism consisting of a high speed (300 RPM minimum) and high torque (1 NM minimum) DC Motor coupled via a GT-2 timing belt and associated pulleys to the cart, allowing for the generation of the necessary control effort.  

3. The systems sensing mechanism will consist of high-resolution encoders (2500 PPR), a high-resolution camera (720x480p 60 FPS minimum) and limit switches. These will serve to measure the angular displacement and linear displacement of the pendulum and cart respectively, while also adding variable safety limits to the mechanism’s movements.  

4. An integrated circuitry in the form of a PCB will provide the necessary electrical coupling between the external power supply, motor driver, data acquisition module (incorporating signal conditioning), controller and FPGA unit for image processing. 

5. A software firmware will be developed to integrate the DAQ and controller to provide access to low-level control of the system’s hardware, allowing for easy integration with software such as MATLAB & NI LabView. 

6. A graphical user interface (GUI) will be developed using MATLAB and/or NI LabView that will allow for smooth student interaction with the platform. 

7. A lab manual will also be designed, which will consist of the systems mathematical model, a pre-designed controller, and detailed guidelines allowing the students to develop and test suitable control algorithms. 

Final Deliverable of the Project

HW/SW integrated system

Core Industry

Education

Other Industries

IT , Manufacturing , Others

Core Technology

Robotics

Other Technologies

Others

Sustainable Development Goals

Quality Education, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Required Resources

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