Low-cost magnetic levitation project kits for teaching feedback system design

Low-cost magnetic levitation project kits are used in teaching system design in an introductory undergraduate control systems course. Students receive individual kits along with assembly instructions for building a magnetic levitation device that is marginally stable, and they are then challenged to modify the system to improve performance. The magnetic levitation kits provide an open-ended design problem, a class memento, and on-campus advertising for future students.