Air flow levitation system for in class and remote learning of control systems

• Autores: José Miguel Espi Huerta, Jaime Castelló, Rafael García Gil
• Localización: The International journal of engineering education, ISSN-e 0949-149X, Vol. 33, no. 1 (Parte A), 2017, págs. 74-83
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • In this paper an air levitation module used in control laboratories is presented. The proposed module offers the possibilityof remote interactivity with the hardware through the Internet to meet the growing demand for a much more flexibleeducation or for distance learning. In this laboratory, students have to design a PID control that keeps an object hoveringat a desired height and can test their designs on the levitation module in three different ways: sending the PID control to themodule from a PC via USB, programming the PID control in an external PLC, or sending the PID control to the modulethrough Internet. In remote mode, once transferred the designed PID control through Internet, students receive a real-timevideo broadcasting of the levitating object to test the performed design. While other e-learning concepts work only withstoredmultimedia content,the proposede-learning mode providesreal-time remoteinteractivity withthe hardware.Useofthis tool allows students to gain experience on the implementation of PID control structures, testing their control designsrepeatedly and to improve their self-learning capabilities. Feedback and comments from students show that this toolimproves the interest for this subject and encourages the learning process.