A real time application of model reference adaptive PID controller for magnetic levitation system

Magnetic levitation system is very popular experimental hardware in control laboratory for position control of the steel ball. The presence of high nonlinearity and parameter uncertainty make it difficult to control the ball position through conventional feedback controller. To overcome this problem, an adaptive proportional integral and derivative (PID) controller, based on model reference adaptive control (MRAC) is proposed. The proposed controller utilizes the MIT rule for adaptation mechanism. It is applied on real time magnetic levitation educational control equipment, GML1001. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the experimental procedure.