Michail Papoutsidakis

SHAPING THE MECHATRONICS COURSES FOR THE CONTROL CURRICULUM

Abstract Five years of field practice in developing and delivering Mechatronics courses in the context of a Control education curriculum, have shaped the didactic approaches in place and delivered a number concrete results from hands-on experience. The paper reports on some of the main outcomes of this undertaking, presented within an integrating framework that brings together curriculum content, didactic methods, teaching tools and organizational aspects.

Low cost swarm robotic platforms operating with open-source software for cooperative applications

One of the numerous implementations, Intelligent Systems Lab of the Technological Institute of Piraeus, Greece, has recently accomplished are described in this paper. Within the area of small mobile robots design, the project combines computer science in modern network protocol communication and microcontroller based motion control tasks. The goal of building autonomous hand-on robotic platforms for multiple educational and every day applications in society, has long been an area of investigation and development for researchers and engineers. The presented pair of versatile robots in this project is designed to act as the “chase and hunter” application, which at least meets the requirements of constant need for evolution in the robotics domain. Low cost, though modern and up to date technology was used and all gear data will be explained in details as well as the performing scenario.

A collaborative PID and intelligent control method for a nonlinear positioning system in simulation

Despite the abundance of sophisticated tools, including advanced controllers, the Proportional-Integral-Derivative controller is still the most widely used in modern industry, controlling more than the 90% of closed-loop industrial processes. Many researchers have implemented PID controllers in pneumatic positioning systems and they all faced the problem of tuning the three different gain values. In this research project the use of a PID controller in a such highly nonlinear system is investigated. In an attempt to improve the system performance and support the classical control methods drawbacks, an intelligent control method is implemented supplementary to a PID controller in a very modern simulation software environment. All benefits of the system behavior are recorded and illustrated in this paper, as well as comments of the significantly improved system performance.

Automation Upgrade via PLC Applications for Big Harbor Delivery Facilities

This paper deals with the improvement of a harbour wheat delivery line with the aim of automating the procedure. Specifically, this improvement will be implemented with the use of PLC and the function will be explained during the designing and the trials. In conclusion the paper is completed commenting on the results and suggesting future solutions with the aim of improving the aforementioned facility.

Methodology of PID Control – A Case Study for Stepper Motors

Stepper motors have already shown their advantages of use in applications where precision movements and accurate control are required. One of the most commonly used type of controller that was used to control stepper motors is the classical PID controller because of its easily programming characteristics. In this paper such a conjunction is going to be presented and as well as all the results of a given example of application.

A Comparative Study of Control Methods for a Robotic Manipulator with Six DOF in Simulation

In this paper a comparative study of the classical control methods for the testing of a mathematical model, which controls six actuators of a six degrees of freedom robotic arm with a single controller, is illustrated, aiming to the constructive simplification of the system. In more detail, a mathematical model of the system is designed which simulates all mechanical parts, including 5-way directional pneumatic valve, the pneumatic actuators/pistons and the mathematical model of the controller. The purpose of the above is the tuning of a Single Input, Multiple Output (SIMO) controller which will direct the motion of the six pneumatic pistons. The thorough analysis of the implementation of the pneumatic system in Matlab/Simulink environment is followed by experimentation and results using Proportional (P), Proportional-Integral (PI), Proportional-Derivative (PD) and Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controllers. The simulation results show the advantages of the above classical control methods on the robotic human arm which imitating human motion and made by a well-known company in the field of pneumatic automation.

Modern Shipping Navigation based on Telemetry and Communication Systems

This project deals with one of the most critical sectors in the maritime industry and specifically to telecommunications through which is a comprehensive presentation and analytical study of systems and applications falling in this area. Initially a brief introduction on the industry and then an overview of the requirements that satisfy the services offered by telecommunications and the rapid improvement of electronic communication systems over the years. In the second chapter we analyse the basic principles of operation of nautical electronic navigational appliances and marine research, their characteristics and ways of using them. Following is a detailed presentation of satellite systems since become initially grasp the context of the regulations as mandatory through SOLAS developed by the IMO. Finally, the fourth chapter classifies the electronic applications of the shipping office according to their field of use. The formats presented vary, but can be divided into two main categories: office and ship applications, which work complementarily by exchanging data and information.

The I-term influence in Simulating Hydraulics: A study of classical and intelligent control

As a result of the constant evolution in industrial machinery, a greater demand for system accuracy and stability arises. Hydraulic systems compound a discrete number of dynamic parts which are used extensively in motion control applications. In order to determine the motion direction, these dynamic parts have to be controlled. This paper aims to assess the hydraulic actuation system performance by implementing various control methods, in Matlab / Simulink environment with Sim Hydraulics. The first step of the process was modeling the system, which is divided in a hydraulic part and a mechanical one. A classic and a fuzzy PID controller are designed. Moreover the design and implementation of a fuzzy PID controller self-tuning-parameter is described along with the rule structure of the controller. Next comparative estimations are performed based on the input and output system data. Finally conclusions derive from the usage of the I-term and its effect on the systems behavior through the analysis of results obtained through this experimental project.

Simulated and real pneumatic plant intelligent controlling via a low budget interface board

Pneumatic positioning systems, as rapid force enforcement systems, have always been popular to engineers due to their advantages like, low cost and clear environmental conditions of operation. Apart from that, the still unsolved problem of highly position accuracy requires intelligent control design schemes to achieve performance improvements. In this research work, an attempt to control a pneumatic actuator in a real rig simultaneously with a simulation model, is proposed. A modern control method was chosen for the task, which was implemented in both processes, the simulated and the real one. The mathematical model of the system will be provided and the comparison results of operation are illustrated in the paper supporting the efficiency of the proposed controller. Additionally, an embedded electronics board was designed and constructed to fulfill successfully the interface needs. On the board, a microcontroller was mounted and all its necessary peripherals in order to host the control algorithm, communicate with the pneumatic plant and at the same time operate as a data acquisition system. All electronic components were picked up from next corners electronics store thus minimizing the cost of the research but without questioning the reliability of the system.

Modern control interface for SCORBOT ER-III robot

The linkage between modern, up-to-date technology and robotic equipment of older ages, has always attracted the attention of engineers. Given the fact that nowadays programming tools are very efficient and more user friendly than older environments, amplifies the need for this collaboration. In this research project, a method to program and operate all functions of the SCORBOT ER-III robotic arm via a modern interface tool is presented. The older although still existing in use control software is now replaced with a more efficient and stable one. The above hardware will be joint with the latest version of LabVIEW program. In such an environment, the ability of the user to control and monitor all operation modes of the robot becomes easier and more flexible. The efficiency of the executable control algorithms as well as the feedback signals of the robot will be recorded and presented in this work. The main interface control panel will be thoroughly explained through specific operation examples and in addition, the details of the code generation in block diagram format forms the rest of this research paper body.