Engineering task brief

Ball and Beam Engineering Lab

Control a double-integrator ball position using a limited beam angle. Reverse the target and study derivative filtering under measurement noise.

Model: G(s) = 0.21 / s²
Beam angle limit: ±0.15 rad
Ball position limit: ±0.5 m
Position command: ±0.25 m

Ball resting on a tilting beam driven by a servo lever

Nominal Positioning

Move the ball to 0.25 m. The 8 s target reflects the physical minimum imposed by the ±0.15 rad beam limit.

Command Reversal

Move to 0.25 m, then reverse to -0.25 m at 4 s. The calibrated reversal target is 11 s after switching.

Noisy Measurement

Track 0.25 m with deterministic 0.002 m measurement noise.

Actuator constraint: Beam angle must remain between -0.15 and 0.15 rad. Your final delivery includes a controller choice, experiment evidence, multi-scenario validation, and a short design conclusion.

Learning objectives

✓ Control a double-integrator plant
✓ Use proportional and derivative action
✓ Respect beam and position limits
✓ Understand derivative noise sensitivity and filtering