First Day

There's a project coming up in ECSE 4440: Control Systems in which we will have to create a controller for a specific system. This sounds ok, but I'd like to take a different approach. Instead of controlling a given system, I'd like to design a simple system myself and try controlling it. I find that the more tangible that an experience is, the more I learn and the easier it is to retain and recall. And since the material in this class forms the basis for most other classes in my curriculum, the more I retain the better!

I would like to build a self balancing robot, something similar to a Segway. This is a permutation of the classic cart and pendulum system. This type of system consists of a wheeled base connected to a mass by a rigid rod that has a joint at the base. This is an excellent system to build since it is simple and easy to model. We've also gone through many exercises in class dealing with this system keeping it fresh in my mind.

To build the platform, I'd like to use LEGO Mindstorms as a rapid prototyping platform. Mindstorms provides a quick and stable solution. Building a frame from other materials such as wood or metal and using a microcontroller are all possible, but would take time. It is out of the scope of the project to do this. The LEGO Mindstorms kit has been around since the late 1990s  and has been through three generational upgrades, each adding new features, sensors, and communication options. (Wikipedia) Universities recognise Mindstorms as an option as Tufts, Carnegie Mellon, and MIT have all created some projects using Mindstorms. (LEGO)

I plan to construct the test platform using the Mindstorms NXT 2.0 kit (#8547). The platform will consist of two interactive servos motors with tire attachments, the NXT control unit, an accelerometer, and interconnecting LEGOs. The servos with tires will be at the base of the unit "shoulder" width apart. These will be connected and attached to the NXT such that the weight will be evenly distributed across each servo. The nxt will in turn connect and attach to the acceleromoter above the NXT.

I may or may not have put the order in already... :)