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Levitation Project
Developed to demonstrate the possibilities of intelligent systems, this levitation controller models the difference between human and computer control. Below (Figure 1.) is a pictorial of the levitation system. It consists of an upright blower, an array of infrared pairs, an embedded controller, and a soda bottle bottom. The idea is to levitate the soda bottom at a constant height by turning the blower on and off. For a human, this is not as easy as it seems. Ben Segee in Figure 2. realizes this fact as the bottom flies out of control. Say instead an embedded controller turns on and off the blower. By looking at what infrared pairs were tripped, it can sense where the soda bottom is. By pulse-width modulating the motor, the embedded controller can turn the motor on and off for short durations to keep the soda bottom at the desired height. Since the embedded controller is interfaced to a PC, the user can adjust the height of the soda bottom by simply entering in a value. This project demonstrates to the user and onlookers that it is not easy for humans to control a system. But as Ben in Figure 3. would agree, an intelligent system does it well.
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[Overview]
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