Educational use of a small-scale cherrypicker

Cherrypickers are a useful class of machines that can lift people to great heights. Unfortunately, the operator bucket oscillates and the entire machine can tip over in catastrophic accidents. Understanding the dynamics and stability of these machines is crucial for efficient and safe operation. To this end, a small-scale cherrypicker was constructed for experimental dynamic analysis and educational use. The dynamic behavior of the cherrypicker, as well as the improved system response using vibration-control techniques are presented. The cherrypicker was used during fall 2010 as an experimental apparatus in an advanced graduate controls course taught simultaneously at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Its educational use in this multi-institutional course is discussed.