HUMUSOFT produced educational models for teaching control theory. When working with these models, students can apply their theoretical knowledge directly to experiments with real dynamical systems. This way of working is important for the development of students' engineering skills.
The scale model demonstrates control problems associated with unstable systems. The system consists of a plate pivoted at its centre such that the slope of the plate can be manipulated in two perpendicular directions. A servo system consisting of motor controller card and two stepper motors is used for tilting the plate. Intelligent vision system is used for measurement of a ball position. The basic control task is to control the position of a ball freely rolling on a plate. The Ball&Plate system is a dynamic system with two inputs and two outputs. Both coordinates can be controlled independently as their mutual interactions are negligible due to low velocity and acceleration rate of the ball movement. The system is naturally sampled as both actuators and sensor are of a digital, discrete time nature. The system is designed to be controlled by digital controllers.
An extensive range of experiments can be carried out with this apparatus: