Mechatronics Design Approach for Working Model ...

The paper is concerned with mechatronics approach to design and construct a working model of a “Kora-kora” Swinging Boat Ride for educational and entertainment applications based on the study of the actual ride in an amusement park. By constructing a working model of this ride, it is possible to learn and apply mechanical, electrical and programming aspects to solve similar problems creatively. From the mechanical aspect, it clearly represents pendulum movement. From electromechanical and programming systems, the left and right swing movement of the ride is driven by a DC motor under the control of a microcontroller. The sensor used to detect the swing of the boat is an optical encoder. From the passenger point of view, riding a swinging boat gives excitement and unique sensation due to the variation of gravitational acceleration. This gravitational acceleration is observed by using accelerometer to detect and measure the angular acceleration of the boat. Finally, the whole system is integrated and tested to evaluate its performance which proved to be very similar to the actual system.