1
Aerial test bench introduction in electrical
engineering classroom: study in the learning process
focused on digital control teaching
Felipe Souza Sanches1 , André Carmona Hernandes1
1 Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Departamento de Engenharia Elétrica, Rodovia Washington Luis, km 235,
São Carlos, Brasil, CEP: 13565-905
Abstract—The active methodology, according to studies, is
more efficient than traditional models. Besides that, is shown
that the use of robotics in the learning process brings several
benefits. Considering this information, a test bench, used for
aerial studies, was applied to the discipline of digital control.
Through questionnaires applied to the students, it was possible
to track the improvement in some competencies such as the
microcontroller and basic control concepts. On the other hand,
students had difficulty in dealing with the modeling of the
proposed system, which hindered the full application of active
methodology in this project.
keywords—Robotic, aerial, control, test bench, educational,
active methodology
I. I NTRODUCTION
D IFFERENT approaches can be taken during the learning
process, but studies show that old-fashioned teaching
models have low effectiveness when compared with results
coming through the active methodology, according to [1], [2],
[3], and [4]. The active methodology is based on stimulating
the constant contact of the student with the topics covered and
exercises critical thinking about the operations performed in
their activities. The teachers change their perspective as well,
which they end up acting as a facilitator to the learning pro-
cess. According to [5], punctual redirects, distance monitoring,
and suggestions are part of the educator’s performance, doing
a job similar to mentoring. This can be applied to different
study fields such as engineer courses.
Constant contact with laboratory practices becomes an es-
sential factor in engineering education, since, as [6] highlights,
part of the dropout in the courses is due to the loss of
motivation and discouragement caused by the theoretical basis
that the engineering introduces the students. It is essential
to emphasize that this theoretical basis is essential for the
solution of real problems, but this basis must communicate
with laboratory activities and the knowledge presented to the
student must be turned to application in engineering.
The electrical engineering course is moving towards making
it possible to teach the broadest technical details of a wide
range of disciplines. Making use of robotic systems to achieve
this goal ends up being a frequent practice, as shown in [7],
[8], and [9]. [10] still highlights that educational institutions
with high reputations in engineering, such as Carnegie Mellon
University, use mobile robotics application as a teaching tool.
Indeed this action is important. According to [11] it is
also possible to list reasons that make robotics effective in
introductory engineering education:
1) Enables students to gain a broad view of areas such as
computer engineering, electrical and mechanical, and besides,
helps to arouse interest in this professional area.
2) The students gain experience and acquiring knowledge
that will be important to succeed in more advanced parts of
the engineering course.
3) From the beginning of the study, students end up getting
involved in self-directed learning, interdisciplinary activities,
teamwork, develop professional communication, technical in-
vention, and research.
4) It makes the student learn to investigate physical environ-
ments and human factors, which ultimately determine topics
for engineering projects.
5) It can develop students’ intelligence and creativity when
they are subjected to intensive activity resolution practices.
Robotics studies by itself is a very comprehensive topic,
but a branch which is currently becoming popular is aerial
robotics, more specifically the RPA (Remotely Piloted Air-
craft) category. Such enthusiasm, as shown in [12], is justified
when is observed the positive financial impact of 82 billion
dollars that this segment has made and will generate only in
the American market between 2015 and 2025, according to
the International Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems
(Association for Unmanned Vehicle System International -
AUVSI). Even with the pandemic situation, related to COVID-
19, is seen that drones have become part of the operation of
many companies which see in this aircraft a good way to rein-
vent themselves. According to Dan Burton, founder and CEO
of DroneBase, the largest global drone operations company,
customers are incorporating drones into their operations and
budgets, and are still finding additional use cases. [13]
The RPA has many different models and one type is the
rotary-wing aircraft, being the most popular the quadcopter,
which consists of 4 equally spaced vertical propellers, battery,
and electronic components embedded in its structure. Addi-
tional hardware may be added to receive radio commands or
transmit some data. Several authors have tried to understand
and propose faster, more robust or better controllers for these
aircraft, just like [14], [15], [16], [17] and [18]. Besides that

these studied aircraft can also be part of laboratory materials
in an electrical engineering department.
Is important to highlight that according to [19], comprehen-
sive research shows that the results related to the learning of
engineering programs are associated with the quality of the
laboratories and the experiments carried out and, however, a
fully functional quadcopter can be expensive and may also
require a protected area for testing purposes only. Thus, the
practice of using technology platforms are widely used.
There are some ideas available as Quanser AERO. This
specific test bench can be integrated with a PC and mi-
crocontroller, such as Arduino and Raspberry Pi. Besides
that, Quanser AERO interfaces Matlab R and Simulink R which
makes the student having contact with different engineering
tools. This test bench is also used to an academic purpose, as is
possible to see in [20], [21], and [22]. Besides Quanser AERO,
there the Twin Rotor MIMO System, by Feedback Instruments
Ltd., which also permits integration with Matlab and Simulink
through an Advantech PCI Card. This plant makes the student
having contact with a MIMO system, making it possible to
study and apply control theory, as shown in [23]. Despite
the differences, both benches are excellent systems to study
aerodynamics, apply controllers and they are still able to
engage research on the topics proposed by their application
In addition, it turns out to be quite common for an engi-
neering course to deal with low university budgets. Consid-
ering this, the practice of using technological platforms that
cost less than traditional ones is quite common. Applications
with LEGO R can be seen at Lego-Lab at Aarhus University,
St Brown University, and Tufts University. [24] In both,
LEGO R elements were used to apply various ideas associated
with robotics, control, and computer science. Despite the
flexibility of LEGO R , it can still be very expensive to apply.
In [25] and [26] a didactic platform, aiming to teach control,
was developed using parts that are easy to replace and that
would allow simplified repair and maintenance. Based on
them, a low-budget test bench was developed with application
aimed at teaching and research in the field of aerial robotics,
so the platform presents the challenges encountered when
working with drones, as observed in [27].
II. O BJECTIVE
The objective of this article is to analyze the students’
development considering different theoretical fronts existing in
a controller project applied to aerial robotics. The test bench
developed was applied in the discipline of Digital Control for
students of electrical engineering at the Universidade Federal
de São Carlos (Federal University of São Carlos).
This article is organized as follows. Section III describes
the test bench used. Section IV presents the context in which
the bench was applied and the project’s integration. Section V
shows the methodology used both to obtain and to interpret
the information collected. Section VI presents the results
obtained together with their discussion. Section VII concludes
the article and future work to be done. Appendices A, B, C
and D present tutorials used by the students during the project.
2
III. E DUCATIONAL BENCH
The educational bench consists of two propellers and rotors,
positioned, in each side, at the end of a L-shaped rod. The
rod has a aluminum axle fixed in the middle, which connects
to two ball bearings. Thus the L-shaped rod is free to turn
and, as it has weight support in both sides, it is less prone
to vibration and other undesirable mechanical movement. The
bearings are on 15 cm height wooden support. There are two
ESCs (electronic speed control), which are also located on
the rod, where they perform motor speed control, an analog
encoder, which is powering by a microcontroller, positioned
in the central position of the rod, designed so that angle
measurement is possible. The microcontroller, also responsible
for controlling the ESCs, is positioned parallel to the center of
the rod. The base is made of wood and supports the bearings
of the bearing and the circuit board of the hide.
Fig. 1: Diagram of operation of the developed test bench.
Fig. 2: Blocks diagram of the test bench.
The proposed bench diagram and its physical implemen-
tation are shown, respectively, in figures 1 and 2. The char-
acterization related to ESC and ENGINE blocks are shown
in A, the information of the ANGULAR SENSOR and the
ARM are depicted, respectively, in C and B. Besides that, the
photography of the bench is showed in figure 3.
IV. P ROBLEM F ORMULATION
The discipline of Digital Control, offered by the Departa-
mento de Engenharia Elétrica (electrical engineering depart-
ment) of the Universidade Federal de São Carlos (Federal
University of São Carlos), is a 90 hours course, where 30
hours are used for laboratory practices. Another point to
be highlighted about the discipline, it is offered in the 8th
semester of 10, therefore, it is expected that the students
already have a broader knowledge of engineering since they
have already gone through disciplines such as programming,
electric and digital circuits, electronics circuits, modeling,
microcontrollers, and control systems. For the students to
be regularly enrolled, they must have been approved in the
discipline of Control Systems 2 and, still, are recommended

Fig. 3: Test bench used in the developed project.
the students have taken the discipline of Applications of
Microcontrollers. The discipline of Digital Control aims to
”Provide the student with the basic concepts of discrete sys-
tems in time and real-time control projects for dynamic and its
modeling and implementation in practical computer systems”,
as presented in the excerpt extracted from the Pedagogical
Project of the electrical engineering course [28].
Thus, it is assumed that the student has autonomy and re-
sourcefulness in the technical part in comparison to students in
the first semesters of the course. Therefore, the application of
the active methodology is adequate for the course in question,
since the methodology places the students as the protagonists
of their learning process. Besides, laboratory practices allow
the student to spend more time having practical contact, as
commented in [5].
This practical contact is important once the expected project
requires the student to have a larger and more complex
interpretation of mechanics, electronics, and all the physical
events contained therein. Consequently, the student may be
required to revise punctually on specific topics that they have
difficulty with. A broader view of the phenomena that the
bench encompasses helps in the development of the control
project to be carried out by the 27 students assigned to the
class being tracked.
To have better use in the laboratory, the class was divided
into two parts, Class A and Class B, the duration of the
practical part was increased from two to four hours and each
class alternated between using the laboratory every two weeks,
instead of weekly use.
V. M ETHODOLOGY
In addition to the theoretical classes offered during the
semester, another action taken to provide important infor-
mation and help students were the tutorials. These tutorials
introduced information regarding the test bench characteriza-
tion and how to operate it. Besides that, they also optimized
the time available to execute the project, considering that a
characterization takes time, and to involve the participation of
3
all the students in this step is infeasible. The tutorials are scale
calibration and force measurement, bench characterization,
response to the step of the bench, and powering of the bench,
as shown respectively in the appendixes A, B, C, and D.
Furthermore, a questionnaire was also applied at the begin-
ning of the semester, whose questions were relevant to track
the students’ expertise in the topics and technical skills that
would be worked in the semester. Therefore, a Likert scale was
used, as seen in [29], which consists of a psychometric scale
widely used in research questionnaires. Thus, the students
specified their level of agreement or disagreement, which by
choosing the number -2 the student would be disagreeing with
the proposed statement in the question, and with the choice of
number 2 the student would be agreeing with the statement.
This scale is able to capture the student’s feeling regarding the
question.
Moreover, the questions presented in the questionnaire was
developed to have the characteristics highlighted in [30], such:
1) The question should make the student have only one
interpretation.
2) The question must be developed clearly and precisely.
3) The question should express to the student that he is
reading it one idea at a time.
4) The question must be developed in such a way that
even for the lowest stratum of the analyzed population, it can
interpret it.
5) The question has to be asked in order to be consistent
with the research proposal.
6) The question must be developed to be precise and distinct
from the other questions in the questionnaire that cover the
same subject.
7) The question has to be asked in order to avoid using the
same terms in all questions, removing phrases that may make
it difficult for students to understand.
8) The question must be developed to avoid using thermolo-
gies that indicate extremisms.
9) The question must present appropriate phrases with the
characteristic to be evaluated.
10) The question must be developed in a way that does not
seem ridiculous, purposeless or childish.
Besides the questionnaire, 2-months laboratory classes were
initiated and after the end of these practical classes, the
students had 3 months to develop the project, in which it
represented the final part of the digital control course.
At the end of the semester, a new questionnaire was pro-
posed. The questions asked were similar to those asked at the
beginning of the course, but with the addition of new questions
that would make possible tracking the evolution regarding the
domain and understanding of the topics covered, and also find
out what interests were aroused with the conclusion of the
course.
Moreover, there was also a presentation of the works
developed by the students, as part of the evaluation, in a public
space within the university aiming greater visibility of the
activities carried out in the classroom by the entire community
that participates in the university, as shown in figure 4. The
executed schedule is presented in table I.
 4

This function is displayed in the statistical software Minitab.

Thus, the collected data is shown presenting a totalitarian
behavior of the answers, and, with this function, it is possible
to observe the median of the sample, symbolized by a point.
The blue box, the interquartile range box, represents the
distance between the first and third quartiles (Q3 - Q1) and
is responsible for presenting at least 50% of the data. There
are also lines connected in the box, whiskers, whose its role
is to present the maximum and minimum values, representing
no more than 25% in each side of the box, thus completing
the 100 % of the data and, as shown in [32], excluding points
that are considered outliers, represented as a diamond figure.
In parallel with the boxplot, the histogram is also analyzed
considering it shows detailed information related to the data
which can help to track the students development.

Fig. 4: Presentation of the developed work in the classroom

to the university community.

TABLE I: Activities developed throughout the semester in the

discipline.
Worked period
Activities 08 09 10 11 12
1) Theoretical classes
2) Laboratory classes
3) Execution of the controller project
4) Questionnaires
5) Presentation

VI. R ESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

The educational fronts desired to analyze through the ques-
tions presented in the two questionnaires are shown in table
II. In questionnaire 1, question Q1 was repeated for the
5 fronts already mentioned. Likewise, the same was done
with questions Q2.1, Q2.2, and Q2.3 in questionnaire 2. The
questions are shown in table III.
TABLE II: Nomenclature of the teaching fronts used in the
questions present in the table III.
Nomenclature related to table III
F1 Matlab
F2 C language
F3 Microcontroller
F4 Basic control concepts
F5 Stages of a controller project
TABLE III: Questions present in questionnaire 1 and 2.
Questions
Q1 I have an easy time dealing with the topic
Q2.1 I have an easy time dealing with the topic
Q2.2 The work developed helped with the topic
During this period, outside the discipline of Digital Control,
Q2.3
I worked with the topic.
For the analysis and visualization of the obtained answers,
the boxplot tool was used. This format of analysis is suitable,
given the size of the sample collected (number of students
who participated in the questionnaires) is greater than the
minimum sample recommended of 20, as highlighted in [31].
Fig. 5: Comparison of the answers obtained from the students
with the first question of questionnaires 1 and 2 in relation to
the 5 fronts studied.
Figure 5 shows the results obtained with questions Q1 and
Q2.1. Regarding to the F1 front, where it refers to the use of
Matlab, it can be seen that its median remains the same in
boxplots Q1 F1 and Q2.1 F1, however, it is observed that at
least 50% of students in the interquartile region are no longer
positioned between the -1 and 1 indexes, now they occupy
the space between 0 and 1. Matching this result with figure 6,
it is possible to observe an evolution regarding to the use of
Matlab, once there is a positive shift in the amount of answers
to higher indexes, when is compared the the answers from the
questionnaire 1 (Q! F1) with questionnaire 2 (Q2.1 F1), the
number of data in indexes -2 and -1 decreased and index 2
was chosen by some students.
In C language front (F2), figure 5 shows the median falling
from 1 (presented in the label Q1 F2) to 0 ( presented in the
label Q2 F2). Associating this information with figure 7 is
seen that part of the population presented in the index 1 in
the first questionnaire, distributed their evaluation among the
indexes -1, 0 1 and 2. A reasonable explanation for that would
be and difficult faced by students do executed what they have
learned during the course in the proposed project, and also is
considered that a change in the student’s perspective on the
topic may have occurred between the beginning and the end

Fig. 6: Histogram made with the answers to questions Q1 and
Q2.1 regarding Matlab (F1).
of the discipline since there is a dilution of the quantity of
indexes 1 over the surrounding options.
Fig. 7: Histogram made with the answers to questions Q1 and
Q2.1 referring to language C (F2).
About knowledge in the microcontroller (F3), figure 5
shows an evolution of the students in this front, considering the
median value jumped from -1 to 0, and the concentration of at
least 50% of the answers came out of the restricted range of
-1 and 0 to -1 and 1, as seen in Q1 F3 and Q2.1 F3. This fact
is reinforced by figure 8, which the decrease of the negative
indexes amount and the increase of the number of answers in
indexes 0 and 1.
Basic concepts of control (F4) shows a decrease in the
median value from 0 to -1, and the interquartile range ranges
from -1 to 1 to the range of -1 to 0, seen in Q1 F4 and
Q2.1 F4, as is possible to see in figure 5. Looking at figure 9 it
is seen in Q2.1 F4 that the index -1 is much more bigger than
in Q1 F4, and all the positive indexes decreased. A possible
5
Fig. 8: Histogram made with the answers to questions Q1 and
Q2.1 regarding the microcontroller (F3).
explanation for this worsening may be similar to the one given
to C language (F2), which the students faced difficulties to use
their previous knowledge and apply it to the experiment.
Fig. 9: Histogram made with the answers to questions Q1 and
Q2.1 regarding basic control concepts (F4).
In the Stages of a controller project (F5), the median point
and the interquartile box jump from, respectively, point 0 to
1, and the range from - 1 and 1 to 0 and 2, as shown in the
boxplots Q1 F5 and Q2.1 F5 presented in figure 5. Figure
10 also shows the positive displacement which the positive
region of Q2.1 F5 is more occupied than the negative one.
Considering that, is possible to assume that the project was
effective and helped the students develop this front.
For question Q2.2, which assesses whether the work helped
with the fronts, the results obtained are shown in figure 11.
Except for the front related to the microcontroller, all other
fronts had their median at 1. Comparing the result of figure 5
with figure 11 it can be seen that the fronts F1 and F5 had a
good performance on the part of the students. For F2 and F4, as

Fig. 10: Histogram made with the answers to questions Q1
and Q2.1 regarding the controller project (F5).
Fig. 11: Result of question Q2.2 for the 5 fronts.
the interquartile boxes occupy the respective positive intervals
of 0 and 1, and 0 and 2 are interpreted as an acceptable
evolution of performance. On the F3 front, despite the median
being the index 0, its interquartile region is in the range from
0 to 1, which, considering it was a front where the students
had difficulty, it is still a positive result once these parameters
did not enter indices less than 0 and also show that in the
students perceptions, the proposed work stimulates all 5 fronts
investigated.
Besides that, was asked to the student evaluated whether
outside the discipline they worked with the analyzed fronts,
as seen in Q2.3 in table III. According to figure 12, fronts
F1 (Matlab) and F4 (Basic control concepts) were approached
in other places by part of the students, although the median
value is placed in the index 0. F2 (C language) and F5 (Stages
of a controller project) presented a median in -1, depicting
a considerable part of the students only had contact with
this topic during the discipline. Thus, this information can be
used to highlighted the good result related to the stages of a
controller project (F5). Figure 12 also shows that at least 50%
6
of the students only used the microcontroller in the discipline,
and confronting this fact with the graphic present in figure 12
it is concluded that all the gain obtained in F3 was thanks to
the work developed with the course. This idea is also engaged
considering there was no reviewing of this front before the
beginning of the discipline.
Fig. 12: Result of question Q2.3 for the 5 fronts.
TABLE IV: The nomenclature used in the questions present
in the table V.
Nomenclature related to table
T1 Bench sensor characterization tutorial
T2 Motor strength characterization tutorial
T3 Plant characterization tutorial
D1 Bench sensor characterization data
D2 Motor strength characterization data
D3 Plant characterization data
TABLE V: Questions present in questionnaire 2.
Questions
In my opinion, the tutorials/characterization videos helped
Q2.4 to understand how was the experimental process of data
collection.
Q2.5 The data provided was presented clearly.
The students were also asked how they dealt with the
information that was provided at the beginning of the project,
being the tutorials of the procedure done and the acquired data
as shown in table IV. The questions related to this topics are
show in table V.
In general, it is possible to observe by the figures 13 and
14 the tutorials and data referring to the characterizations
executed and made available to the students had good results
since for both graphs the medians were at 1, although the
box plot referring to the engine data (Q2.5 D2) has part of
its interquatile box below index 0, which is indicative of the
complexity of the problem. Even so, these results highlight
the competence in the way of making the data available.
Another question answered by the students was regarding
the clarity that they performed the various stages present in
the project as is possible to see in table VI. The question is
shown in table VII.
 7

requirements (S3) and control architecture definition (S4) show

a median value of 0, their interquatile box is between 0 and
1 indexes. In figure 16, experimental tests(S7) and adjustment
of requirements (S9) show a positive result, considering that
at least 50% of the data are placed between 0 and 1 indexes,
and their median value indexes are 1 for both cases. Controller
design differs only in the median value, which in this case is
0.

Fig. 13: The evaluation made on the three tutorials provided.

Fig. 15: Answers to question Q2.6 regarding the clarity

presented by students in steps S1, S2, S3, S4 and S5.

Fig. 14: The evaluation made on the three sets of data

available.

TABLE VI: The nomenclature used in the question present in

the table.
Nomenclature related to table
S1 Identification of the variables (inputs, output, states)
Definition of the domain of the variables
S2
(physical magnitude)
S3 Choice requirements
S4 Control architecture definition
S5 Simulation step
S6 Controller design Fig. 16: Answers to question Q2.6 regarding the clarity
S7 Experimental tests presented by students in steps S6, S7, S8, S9 and S10.
S8 Identification of unmapped variables
S9 Adjustment of requirements
S10 Model validation (simulated/experimental) Besides that, from figures 15 and 16 it is observed that
students answered they faced difficulties in the steps of the
TABLE VII: Question present in questionnaire 2. simulation step (S5), identification of unmapped variables
(S8) and model validation (simulated/experimental) (S10). A
Question
During the project, I was clear during all the steps hypothesis for such responses may be precisely the project’s
Q2.6 proposal, where it was sought to use the active methodology,
performed.
therefore, no script was made available to students. This drop-
in expectation might be a factor that justifies this position by
Analyzing figure 15 it is observed that steps like identifi- part of the student.
cation of the variables (S1) and definition of the domain of It was also analyzed the comments written by the students
the variables (S2) did not presented much problem to at least regarding the difficulties faced. In general, it is observed that
50% of the class, once the interquartile box is in a positive area the class presented major problems about modeling, repre-
and the median is situated in the index 1. Although in choice senting 32% of the answers, and stages of experimentation,
 8

appearing as the second most recurrent problem with 24% of

the answers. The difficulties are observed in figure 17.

Fig. 17: Most recurring difficulties according to the opinion Fig. 18: Answers to question Q2.7 regarding the interest
of each student. aroused at least in areas A1, A2, and A3.

Students were also asked about their interest in the areas

shown in table VIII. The question is shown in table IX.
Analyzing figures 18 and 19 is possible to highlight that the
digital control area (A3) was the one with the best positioning
between the fields studied, where its median value was placed
in the index 1. Besides that, is possible to compare this result
with the difficulties faced by the students, shown in figure
17. Considering the topics as experimentation, control theory,
and control practice is seen that the front of digital control
represented 60% of the difficulties, and still seems that the
students remained interested. It may suggest that the proposed
project for the digital control discipline has motivated the
students.
TABLE VIII: The nomenclature used in the question present
in the table IX. Fig. 19: Answers to question Q2.7 regarding the interest
Nomenclature related to table
aroused at least in areas A4, A5, and A6.
A1 Aerial robotics
A2 Modeling
A3 Digital control process. It was seen even if all the information to execute the
A4 Microcontroller project, they still needed the professor’s help to clarify some
A5 Programming in Matlab/Simulink
A6 Instrumentation topics, being most of them related to modeling.

TABLE IX: Question present in questionnaire 2.
Question
Q2.7 During the project, my interest was aroused/increased.
In contrast with that, modeling (A2) had a greater disinterest
and this can be justified when is considering that the biggest
difficulty was modeling. Instrumentation (A6) had their me-
dian located at 0 and its interquartile range occupied mostly
regions below index 0 shows a partial disinterest, possibly
related to experimental difficulties. In general, this positioning
can be linked with a misperception and other difficulties
faced by the students during the project. Interests related to
the microcontroller (A4) only a partial interest and as aerial
robotics (A1) as programming (A5) did not have modification.
The application of the active methodology to this subject
was not completely correct considering it was the first time
the students was submitted over this approach in the learning
VII. C ONCLUSION
With the analyzes made on the results, it was possible to
observe that the work impacted all fronts, showing greater
relevance in some cases and less in others. In addition, mod-
eling is a topic that possibly makes the student lose interest in
pursuing a career in the field of aerial control and robotics. A
possible solution to solve this problem could be a reviewing, at
the beginning of the digital control discipline, about subjects
related to modeling or reviewing how this specific topic
is being addressed in disciplines that are prerequisites for
it. On the other hand, it was seen that the discipline and
also the project had a positive impact on fronts such as C
language and stages of a controller project. Besides that, the
application of the active methodology was partially effective,
since the students had great difficulties with the modeling of
the problem.
For future work, it is desirable to increase the dataset, im-
prove the delivery of support materials, and also it is possible

to propose to trace the causes of the difficulties faced by the
students in order to make the electrical engineering course
manage, in the best possible way, to prepare the students and
not move them away from areas that they may have a little
more difficulty.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I would like to thank mainly God, my family, friends, and
professors. Without each of them, my journey and accomplish-
ments would not be so extraordinary. Thank you, professor and
friend, André Carmona Hernades for, since the beginning of
my engineering studies, instructing me to become an excellent
professional.
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A PPENDIX A
S CALE CALIBRATION AND FORCE MEASUREMENT
1- Separate weights whose values are known. The mass will
be represented by the unknown mb .
2- Ensure that the test bench is fixed to the work plane. See
figure 20.
3- Fix a thin point next to the cylindrical structure so that it
is possible to measure the force that the bench arm performs
with the scale. Figure 21 illustrates such procedures.
4- Position the tip in a position that looks good and note this
value (position lx ). See figure 22. Note that the ruler measures
from the motor to the center of the test bench.
5- Align the arms so that they are at an angle of 0◦ avoiding
interference from positioning errors.
6- After positioning the structure on the bench, tare the
balance to avoid any unbalanced mass effect.
 10

Fig. 22: Positioning the tip of the structure at a point on the

arm.

Fig. 23: Setup model assembled for measurements.

Fig. 20: Fixing done on the bench.

mb .g(L − lca ) = mm .g(L − lx )

Dividing everything by mb .g gives:

mm
(L − lca ) = (L − lx )
mb
mm
Renaming the mb relation to mN and isolating it in the
equation gives

L 1
− lca = mN
L − lx L − lx
L
In order to highlight the existing linear relationship, L−l x
1
Fig. 21: Assembly of the setup made to calibrate the scale and will be replaced by b and L−lx by a. Thus, the equation
measure bench forces. obtained is:

−a.lca + b = mN
7- Place the previously separated weights in known posi-
tions on the bench arm so that, with each measurement made
With the curve obtained experimentally, it is seen that the
by the scale, the weight was increased. This procedure was
value of the length of the arm L is given by the relation ab .
repeated for different positions on the arm, measured by the
Following the same idea, the lx position is obtained through
ruler (lca ).
the relation b−1
a .
8- Given the fixation of the bench and considering that its
The validation of the calibration done is completed from
arms are static, there is the mathematical relationship of the
the moment that lx ∼= lxregression .
model shown in figure 23:
9- Once the calibration part is finished, execute the program-
X ming present in Bitbucket to start the motor that is opposite
M0 = 0 the arm connected to the scale.
10- Do the repetitions using the measurement using different
that is, duty cycle values.

A PPENDIX B
B ENCH CHARACTERIZATION
1- Download on your smartphone an application capable of
measuring the angle that the bench will make. The application
that was used is found in: Link 1.
2- Using hellerman tape, attach your smartphone to one of
the bench’s arms. Figure 24 shows the fixation made for the
characterization.
Fig. 24: Smartphone attached by hellerman tapes to the bench
arm.
3- Make sure the bench is properly powered.
4- Using an oscilloscope probe, read the voltage signal from
the potentiometer by positioning the tips as shown in figure
25.
Fig. 25: Connection made with the tips of the oscilloscope to
read the voltage of the potentiometer.
5- Make the variation of the angles and note their respective
voltage values. It is important that the points collected are
repeated for a more accurate characterization curve. The
characterization made can be accessed by the following link:
Link 2
A PPENDIX C
R ESPONSE TO THE STEP OF THE BENCH
1- Supply the bench properly and connect the oscilloscope
probe to the voltage divider next to the bearing, as shown in
11
figure 25.
2- Connect a wire to the VCC pin on the bench’s devel-
opment board and extend it along one arm, try to pass it
through the hellermans tapes, and make the tip contact the
board. Figure 26 illustrates this positioning. The board used
consists of a resistor connected to the ground and to several
islands with solder, thus aiming to increase the contact surface
so that the tip with the VCC signal feeds this circuit.
Fig. 26: Positioning of the power cord along the arm and
reading the plate responsible for collecting the step signal.
3- Write the code responsible for driving one of the motors.
4- Position the plate responsible for reading the step signal
so that there is contact with the wire fed with the VCC signal
and read the signal using an oscilloscope probe in the position
shown in figure 26.
5- Hold the arm that will be used to start the engine (with
a 40% duty cycle) so that there is contact with the step signal
collection plate, start the engine, wait for the speed to stabilize
and release the bench arm.
Fig. 27: Characterization of the bench with its response to the
step.
6- Collect the signal read on the oscilloscope using the
SINGLE function. The obtained curve is shown in figure 27.
The data collected can be accessed through the Link 3. They
 12

were made on September 17th, with temperature 27.3◦ C and

air pressure of 917.9 hP a, and latitude and longitude of -21.98
and -47.88, respectively. The data were collected is shown on
Link 4.

A PPENDIX D
P OWERING OF THE BENCH
1- Make sure that the DC power supply selector switch is
positioned on the 220V option.
2- Take a plug extension and plug it into a 220V outlet.
3- Use a pair of cables to connect the source output to the
card responsible for filtering the signal, as shown in figure 28.

Fig. 28: Connecting the DC source to the filter using a pair

of cables.

4- Make sure the plate outlet is connected to the bench.

After these steps are completed, the on/off switch on the board
must be changed to the “on” position.