Continuum Dynamics and Control (CDC) Laboratory

Continuum dynamical systems are systems whose state depends both on spatial location (continuum) and time (dynamics). These systems are typically modelled using partial differential equations (PDEs) and have applications in many areas of engineering. The common examples of continuum dynamical systems are


CDC lab is dedicated to the experimental study of dynamics and control of continuum dynamical systems with special emphasis on validating estimation and control algorithms developed in-house by our group.


Contact:  301 Pre-engineering building 

                  IIT Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076

                  Phone: +91-22-2576-6848/5385

                  Email: vivek[dot]natarajan[at]iitb[dot]ac.in

Experimental setups

Single axis industrial robot platform

Components: Hiwin linear guideway, Yasaka servo motor, Yasaka servo driver, Raspberry Pi microcontroller. 

Operation: The servo driver gets position commands from a Raspberry Pi microcontroller. The servo then moves the stage on the linear guideway to the desired position with high accuracy and speed.

Purpose: Flexible beams can be attached to the linear guideway stage; Stabilization algorithms developed for beams can be validated using the platform.

Inverted pendulum setup

Components: Linear rack (brass teeth), 3D printed cart mounted with rigid pendulum, 3D printed gear, DC servo motor and 2 rotary encoders, Arduino microcontroller. 

Operation: The rotary encoders provides the angular position of the pendulum and the linear position of the cart to the Arduino microcontroller. The microcontroller runs a stabilization algorithm using these positions and generates the desired motion for the cart which is realized using the motor. 

Purpose: The rigid pendulum can be replaced with a flexible beam to validate stabilization algorithms developed for flexible structures.