Abstract

Magnetic levitation is a complex, highly nonlinear, and absolute unstable system. The setback of this process for making educative platforms is the need for real-time position sensing of the suspended ball. This paper describes the levitation of a metallic object by a state feedback control loop when the only measured output is the electrical current. The process is detailed in stages, starting with the physical equations that describe this system, the linearization of the model, and showing that the system with the electric current as output is controllable and observable. Subsequently, the authors show the feasibility of applying quadratic optimal, discrete-time controller by simulation. The practical advantages of this design are the use of sensors for online measurement of electrical current instead of the ball’s position, showing that assigning the current as a controlled variable is a viable alternative to building educational platforms for the magnetic levitation system.