Open-source, portable, and low-cost educational kit for engineering control courses
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17979/ja-cea.2026.47.13762Keywords:
Control Education, Control Design, Modelling, Identification, and Signal Processing, Linear Control Systems, Computers for ControlAbstract
Hands-on experimentation is essential in control engineering education; however, traditional laboratory platforms are often costly, non-portable, or rely on proprietary software, limiting their accessibility and scalability. This paper presents an open-source, portable, and low-cost educational kit for practical learning in control engineering courses. The kit integrates an ESP32-based embedded system with a direct-current (DC) motor equipped with an encoder, together with a Python graphical user interface (GUI) for experiment configuration, real-time visualization, and data logging. The firmware employs FreeRTOS to ensure deterministic sampling and supports multiple operating modes (open-loop, position, and velocity). The GUI enables users to configure controllers, apply reference signals, and export experimental data. Thanks to its low cost and open nature, students can assemble the system themselves and have a personal experimental kit, maintaining interaction with a real physical system even outside the laboratory.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Juan M. Gandarias Gandarias, Vicente Arévalo-Espejo, Ricardo Vázquez-Martín, Carlos J. Pérez-del-Pulgar
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