Levitation in control

![CDATA[At UWS, the School of Engineering offers the post graduate Masters degree and students can complete the Advanced Control Systems unit as part of their units. As part of the practical work in ACS the students must complete set practicals and a project that deals with a levitation apparatus. Specifically the students start with an electromagnet, led light source and LDR and are required to develop an apparatus that can levitate a ferrous object. The students are directed to a specific publication as a sample of the methodology to use; a linearized model and controller have to be developed over the 14 teaching weeks. Students are given swipe card access to a laboratory area. Test equipment is issued as required for use in parameter identification. Meeting with a tutor occurred in special tutorials for one hour each week in which students could discuss specific aspects and directions as they progressed their designs. At the end of the Autumn Session students were required to take part in a forum and to present their results, whether successful or not, and as well submit a detailed report of their efforts. Students worked in groups of no more than four and 14 students were involved in total. While a several groups came close to achieving the desired end objective, no group was able to successfully levitate a ferrous object. One group was successful but employed a non-linear method rather than a linearized model. The major problem identified by some of the groups was the design of the electromagnet coil while other groups identified problems with the light source and sensor as the limiting factor. Investigations by the unit co-ordinator identified a major problem with the design of the coil. Using a redesigned coil with current control levitation was achieved. The next iteration of the project should see successful end results.]]