Development of a closed-loop control system for an airborne gimbal camera

The SmartBay platform is an invention of Digiky Srl. The company has developed a wing pylon capable of hosting various types of sensors with the aim of carrying out aerial monitoring. The SmartGimbal is a motorized metal structure designed to hold any type of video camera, equipped with two actuation systems that allow PAN and TILT movements. Being airborne, the movement commands must be given by a remote control. The topic covered in this thesis consists in the development of the software so that the system meets the desired requirements. The used approach is the Model-based one concerning embedded systems, as it allows the generation of the C/C++ code of a model designed in MATLAB/Simulink and its actual implementation in a microcontroller, in this case Arduino Mega2560.The project deals with the system calibration, which automatically rotates a motor until the Hall effect sensor finds the magnet. Moreover, the designing of a closed loop system for speed control of a DC motor using an Encoder such as feedback sensor, and at last, the serial communication between two Arduino boards has been performed. This last argument relates to the fact that the control console, containing the joystick for managing the movements, sends signals to the actuation part and, vice versa, this sends the data to be shown on the display. The parts making up the software have been detailed, with the wiring diagrams showing the connections made and a list of the components used reporting their technical specifications. In conclusion, the support for the video cameras has been made operational and therefore, it can be mounted under the wing of an aircraft and controlled via a console, located inside the cabin.