A Ball and Beam Module for a Haptic Paddle Education Platform

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.