Air levitated ball-pipe system: system modelling, linearization and controller design

Abstract

[EN] The air levitated ball-pipe system is a pneumatic levitation system that is based on airflow. Its working principle consists of a force created with a blower with the purpose of counteracting the opposing gravitational force of the ball. A TOF sensor measures the position of the ball inside the pipe and a Raspberry Pi Zero manages the control of the system. This work performs a modelling process of the ball-pipe system, an analysis of its non-linearities and it presents a variety of controllers and observers such as a PID controller, a LQR controller and a Kalman filter.