A Low-Cost Ball and Beam Platform for Teaching Introductory Concepts of Modelling and Automatic Control

Abstract

This work presents a low-cost Ball and Beam platform along with a teaching methodology oriented towards introductory control engineering education. The proposal seeks to increase students' motivation and early contact with real physical systems. The methodology adopts a progressive approach before addressing modeling and controller design. For this purpose, an open-source, 3D-printable, and low-cost hardware replicable mockup is developed, integrated with Matlab/Simulink through an architecture that allows real-time control. As a technical improvement, a Time-of-Flight (ToF) infrared sensor is incorporated to replace conventional ultrasonic sensors, improving ball position data acquisition. Experimental results validate the implementation of modeling and control activities on the real platform, which favors teaching methodologies based on active learning and continuous experimentation. The proposal constitutes an open, replicable, and easily integrable educational resource for introductory automation and control courses.