Abstract
This paper describes a virtual laboratory which illustrates a real-world application of fundamental control principles: the Reaction Wheel Pendulum. The goal of the paper is to motivate students to learn in a practical way different fundamental aspects of control processes. The laboratory has been developed using the programming support provided by Easy Java Simulations, an open-source tool for teachers with limited programming skills who want to create Java applications and applets.
Highlights
The role of computer technology in education is increasing at a tremendous rate
In engineering education integration of new technologies in the classroom has changed the approach of control learning [1]
The Reaction Wheel Pendulum [8] has received a great attention because it presents interesting properties in both control education and research
Summary
The role of computer technology in education is increasing at a tremendous rate. The effectiveness of interactive learning environments in the educational processes has deeply modified the teaching methods and the notion of education itself. With respect to a conventional laboratory, an interactive virtual laboratory allows more efficient management of the resources (in terms of space and time) available for students [6], [7] In this context, the Reaction Wheel Pendulum [8] has received a great attention because it presents interesting properties in both control education and research. Where the parameters of the controller, kpp, kdp, kpr and kdr, are the proportional and derivative constants for the control of the pendulum and the wheel respectively. These parameters are dependent on the damping factors (ζ1, ζ2). Subscript 1 refers to the pendulum and subscript 2 to the wheel. θ0 represents the angle of the initial position of the pendulum
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