A Ball and Beam Module for a Haptic Paddle Education Platform

Abstract

Single degree of freedom force-feedback mechatronic devices, often called haptic paddles, are used in university curriculum as well as massive open online courses (MOOCs). While devices differ based on the goals of a given course, broadly speaking they provide hands-on learning for students studying mechatronics and dynamics. We introduce the third iteration of the Haptic Paddle at Rice University, which has been modified to improve haptic performance and robustness. The modifications to the design increased device up time as well as the devices Zwidth. The performance improvement enables the addition of experimental plants to the haptic paddle base, which can be directed at advanced dynamics and controls courses, or special topics in mechatronics and haptics. The first module, a Haptic Ball and Beam, adds an underactuated plant for teleoperation or more complex control structures, and a testbed for haptic motor learning experiments in undergraduate coursework.

Reflection on System Dynamics Principles Improves Student Performance in Haptic Paddle Labs

“…All supplementary lab curricular materials, including assignments and rubrics, are available online: http://mahilab.rice.edu/content/ mech-343-lab-handouts-and-grading-rubrics. 1 The lab exercises are centered around the Rice University haptic paddle [17], a low-cost (compared to commercial educational products) single degree of freedom (DOF) device, designed to render haptic environments and illustrate mechatronic concepts. Inherent to the paddle design are nonlinear, multi-domain dynamics, which serves as an introduction to basic control theory, mechatronic implementation hardware, and sensors.…”