Feliphe Gonçalves Galiza

LAXIS - Dispositivo Autoestabilizador (Self-stabilizing device)

Abstract

Inspired by the widespread use of devices called "Gimbal" in military initiatives, rocket engines, ships, submarines, aircraft, photographs and professional filming, the group of undergraduate Engineering students raised interest on developing a device capable of dynamically stabilize objects orientation - focusing on improving the quality of videos recorded by cameras and smartphones. Motors attached to the camera structure continuously control the rotation of three orthogonal axis, correcting the position variations and maintaining an immobile image. This technology is being currently improved -and its cost reduced - making it a product accessible for other purposes.

For the operation of these devices it is essential to know the camera orientation in its three axis, which can be obtained through the use of sensors such as accelerometers and gyroscopes. This project uses an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) sensor, in which a microcontroller reads the final orientation of the system and sends Sinusoidal PWM signals to the three brushless motors. The Control strategy used in the development of this project is a PID controller implemented in C (programming language), thus enabling the use of this project as a research platform and testing of other Control Engineering methods.

Undergraduate Final Project Thesis