FlexyAir

Simple yet powerful extension to Flexy². It is a complex dynamical system, that contains one actuator, the fan. This fan then drives air into the tube, where a plastic floater is then lifted from the bottom position. An infrared proximity sensor then measures the position, which constitutes a measured and controlled process variable. It comes with two knobs, that are fully configurable. As the Flexy², it comes with a Matlab/Simulink interface using which students can easily implement and test their own control strategies. This device can also serve as a perfect demonstrator device, using which the teacher can simply demonstrate the difference between a bang-bang control compared to the smooth performance with a PI controller.

Features

• contains embedded microcontroller (Arduino UNO)
• 4-digit segmented display
• two configurable user inputs (knobs)
• durable 3D printed case
• compatible with all computer platforms (Windows, Linux, Mac)
• MATLAB/Simulink and Python interface
• programmable directly in C language