Control of a ball-and-plate system using a state-feedback controller

Abstract

A ball-and-plate platform is a common example of the dynamical system used to apply modeling and control concepts studied in some engineering courses. In this kind of systems, a spherical body is positioned on a mobile plate with two degrees of freedom. The system is operated by two servo motors that cause displacement of the sphere in the x and y axis in the plane of the platform. It is known that such a system is highly unstable and non-linear. Initially, from a phenomenological analysis we obtained a state-space representation of the system. Then, a state feedback controller using the pole assignment method wasdesigned to maintain a desired position of the sphere over the plane. A computer vision technique allowed us measuring the two-dimensional position of the sphere over the plane in real time. Model of the plant under study and controller design for sphere positioning were experimentally validated considering different set-points. Obtained results let us know that our plant-controller is stable and responds satisfactorily to position disturbances around a reference point.