Remote Computer Based Learning System for Inverted Pendulum Lab Experiment

Computer based learning (CBL) has proven to be an efficient method of delivering engineering courses contents. One major merit of CBL techniques is their adequacy for remote learning. Another advantage is achieved when CBL is employed to deliver practical knowledge. The work presented in this paper attempts to combine the aforementioned advantages. Control systems courses pose a challenge to engineering instructors and students. The main challenge is the lack of practical sense within the plethora of mathematical equations and techniques used to explain a given system model and its controller design. Thus far, a remote CBL system has been designed and developed for an undergraduate control systems course laboratory. The CBL system is based on teaching the principles of PID controller tuning of a naturally unstable system; Inverted Pendulum. A cart-inverted-pendulum has been designed and developed with two feedbacks and PID controllers. The first feedback provides linear position control of the cart, while, the second feedback provides angular position control of the pendulum. The system also consists of a LabVIEW code developed on a local PC to control the experimental hardware. LabVIEW web publishing tool and web server were used to allow and manage remote access of students wishing to perform the experiment via the Internet. The GUI presents the theoretical concepts to students supplemented by graphical plots of the system response. The experimental hardware is an embedded system developed using Arduino UNO to control the inverted pendulum and a web camera allowing the students to watch a video stream of the process in real-time. The developed system allowed for local and remote access and control of the inverted pendulum using the Internet.