DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF BALL AND BEAM CONTROL SYSTEM USING PID CONTROLLER

Abstract

The ball and beam system can usually be found in most university control labs, since it is relatively easy to build, model and control theoretically. The system includes a ball, a beam, a motor, a distance sensor and a controller. The basic idea is to use the torque generated from motor to control the position of the ball on the beam. The ball rolls on the beam freely. By employing linear sensing techniques, the data from the sensor can be taken and compared with desired positions values. The difference is fed back to the Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controller to obtain the desired position. The mathematical model for this system is inherently nonlinear but may be linearized around the horizontal region. This simplified linearized model, however, still represents many typical real systems, such as horizontally stabilizing an airplane during landing and in turbulent airflow. By considering real plant problems such as the sensor noise and actuator saturation, the controllers of the system become more efficient and robust. In this project, a theoretical analysis of the ball and beam system is conducted by employing physical laws. A performance is analyzed using experimental conditions. The main part of the system is Arduino microcontroller. It receives the ball position from ultrasonic distance sensor and compares it with the desired distance which can be changed by the user. PID algorithm has built in Arduino to process the difference signal between desired and real position into control signal. Arduino sends control signal to the DC servomotor which rotate to change the ball position and meet the desired distance. MATLAB software program has been used to plot instant system response by interfacing Arduino with computer to determine system characteristics with different values of controller parameters in order to choose parameters values which obtained best performance for the system.