Virtual Control Workstation Design Using Simulink, Simmechanics, And The Virtual Reality Toolbox
- Conference
- Location
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Chicago, Illinois
- Publication Date
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June 18, 2006
- Start Date
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June 18, 2006
- End Date
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June 21, 2006
- ISSN
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2153-5965
- Conference Session
- Tagged Division
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Electrical and Computer
- Page Count
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11
- Page Numbers
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11.1432.1 - 11.1432.11
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--317
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/317
- Download Count
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894
Paper Authors
Kain Osterholt Belcan Corp.
Kain Osterholt received the B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Bradley University in
May 2005. He is currently an electrical engineer with Belcan Corporation working on the
Caterpillar backhoe-loader research and controls team. His work includes system integration
using C++.
Adam Vaccari Caterpillar Incorporated
Adam Vaccari received the B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Bradley University in
May 2005. He is currently an electrical engineer in the Electronics Department with Caterpillar
Incorporated. His current work includes developing and supporting control systems for
transmissions.
Joe Faivre Caterpillar Incorporated
Joe Faivre received the B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering in May 2004 and the M.S. degree in
Electrical Engineering in August 2005 from Bradley University. His thesis research, “Force
Control Development for a Backhoe Loader Testbed”, focused on the development and design of
an algorithm to regulate the tool tip forces of a Caterpillar 416c backhoe-loader tractor. By
creating a method to measure and feedback force, it would be possible to reduce excessive strain
and implement advanced modes of operation. The SimMechanics Toolbox was used extensively
in the validation of the kinematic and system force equations as well as serving as a simple
system model. He is currently employed by Caterpillar Inc. continuing research on advanced
modes of operation for the backhoe-loader.
Gary Dempsey Bradley University
Gary Dempsey received the B.S.E. degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in
1982, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA., in 1986 and 1991, respectively. From 1982 to 1992, he worked as a Product Design Engineer at General Electric Company and Comdial Corporation in the area of
telecommunications. In 1992, he joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois where he is currently an Associate Professor. He teaches
the undergraduate control theory courses, a graduate course in neural networks, and a senior
design laboratory.
Abstract
NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract
Virtual Control Workstation Design Using Simulink, SimMechanics, and the Virtual Reality Toolbox
Abstract Control workstations are used in education to teach control theory principles as well as a test station for control algorithm development. Two workstations from Quanser Consulting are being used in our electrical and computer engineering program in student projects. Additional workstations have not been purchased for students in the control theory courses because of cost and space constraints. However, incorporating a laboratory feel into these courses would enhance learning and retention. The design and use of a low-cost virtual control workstation in the first undergraduate control theory course will be discussed. The virtual workstation was modeled from the physical electrical and mechanical parameters of a Quanser Consulting electro- mechanical system.
I. Introduction Two control workstations from Quanser Consulting have been used in over a dozen student projects in the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Department at Bradley University as well as for faculty research 1. The Quanser Consulting product line is extensive and many of the products have been developed with assistance from the controls community 2. The virtual workstation was modeled to match the performance characteristics of the physical control workstation shown in Fig. 1. The workstation can be used in three robot arm configurations; level, inverted, and non-inverted; with each resulting in significant differences in static and dynamic properties. Single-loop, multi-loop, feed-forward, and adaptive controllers have been used in past student and faculty projects 3,4.
Expand ed V iew o f Arm M echanism
Figure 1. Quanser-Based Control Workstation.
The virtual control workstation was designed using MATLAB, Simulink, SimMechanics, and the Virtual Reality Toolbox software packages 5. Simulink provides a graphical user interface for nonlinear model development and simulation 6. In 2002, the software package SimMechanics was added as an enhancement to the Simulink environment for modeling mechanical systems. In conjunction with the Virtual Reality Toolbox, the Simulink platform can be used to design a virtual control workstation. Initial planning of the workstation design was started in Spring 2004 and was motivated by an externally-funded research project which used the new SimMechanics
Osterholt, K., & Vaccari, A., & Faivre, J., & Dempsey, G. (2006, June), Virtual Control Workstation Design Using Simulink, Simmechanics, And The Virtual Reality Toolbox Paper presented at 2006 Annual Conference & Exposition, Chicago, Illinois. 10.18260/1-2--317
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