Date Start
Date End
Autumn 2019
Embedded Systems Final Project
2D PID Control
My project partner, Sam, and I created a ball balancing platform using PD control across two axes of a resistive touch screen. The ball is made of steel so that the touchscreen would register its position, and also to slow down its dynamics so that we could control it properly. Two servos controlled the angle of the plate, which was fixed at its center, but allowed to pivot about that point. The PIC32 microcontroller was used to drive the touchscreen for feedback as well as to control the servos.
In the end, we were able to keep the steel ball on the platform for about a minute at a time using PD control. Because the position wasn't stable at a single point, we never bothered to incorporate integral control to correct for steady state offsets. We describe the project a bit for Bruce Land's ECE YouTube channel.
A more in-depth report was generated for the class. We also wrote a similar article describing the project for Circuit Cellar. Hackaday also covered the project.
Class Description
ECE 4760 - Designing with Microcontrollers is a class devoted to "...microcontrollers as components in electronic design and embedded control." Using the PIC32MX processor as a basis for all lab work, an understanding of real-time constraints is required to execute the digital systems design tasks.
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