Air Flow Levitation System for in Class and Remote Learning of Control Systems

作者：Miguel Espi Jose; Castello Jaime; Garcia Gil Rafael^*

来源：International Journal of Engineering Education, 2017, 33(1): 74-83.

• e-learning
• remote laboratory
• levitation
• PID control

In this paper an air levitation module used in control laboratories is presented. The proposed module offers the possibility of remote interactivity with the hardware through the Internet to meet the growing demand for a much more flexible education or for distance learning. In this laboratory, students have to design a PID control that keeps an object hovering at a desired height and can test their designs on the levitation module in three different ways: sending the PID control to the module from a PC via USB, programming the PID control in an external PLC, or sending the PID control to the module through Internet. In remote mode, once transferred the designed PID control through Internet, students receive a real-time video broadcasting of the levitating object to test the performed design. While other e-learning concepts work only with stored multimedia content, the proposed e-learning mode provides real-time remote interactivity with the hardware. Use of this tool allows students to gain experience on the implementation of PID control structures, testing their control designs repeatedly and to improve their self-learning capabilities. Feedback and comments from students show that this tool improves the interest for this subject and encourages the learning process.

• 出版日期2017