Real-Time Embedded Motor Controller

Project Overview

The project targets a high-reliability embedded motor control platform for precision positioning and repeatable dynamic response.

Responsibilities

• Implemented core firmware architecture for real-time control tasks
• Designed ADC, PWM, and encoder data paths for low-latency updates
• Built configurable control loops for current, velocity, and position
• Added diagnostics interface for tuning and fault inspection

Firmware Architecture

Scheduling

• Control loop executed at fixed high-frequency interrupt context
• Auxiliary communication and logging tasks isolated in RTOS threads
• Priority scheme enforced to protect control timing

Control Algorithms

• Field-oriented control pipeline with calibrated current sampling
• Cascaded loop structure for velocity and position control
• Anti-windup and saturation handling for extreme commands

Diagnostics and Safety

• Over-current and over-temperature checks with fault latching
• Startup self-test for sensor and actuator readiness
• Structured telemetry packets for host-side plotting

Challenges and Solutions

Challenge: Timing jitter under heavy communication load

Solution:

• Moved non-critical operations out of interrupt context
• Reduced dynamic memory activity in real-time paths
• Introduced double-buffered telemetry serialization

Challenge: Torque ripple at low speed

Solution:

• Refined current sensor offset calibration process
• Improved PWM dead-time compensation
• Tuned loop gains with staged bandwidth targets

Results

• Stable closed-loop behavior under varied load conditions
• Improved low-speed smoothness and position hold performance
• Better fault traceability through structured telemetry

Next Iteration

• Add adaptive gain scheduling based on load estimation
• Extend firmware update pipeline with secure boot checks
• Introduce automated HIL regression test suite