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Stochastic Thermal Regulation Challenge

Design and implement a PID control loop capable of maintaining a constant temperature in a container subject to unpredictable, high-frequency external thermal noise. You must characterize your system's dead time and noise floor, then tune your controller to minimize steady-state error while maintaining stability during introduced step-load disturbances. Document your loop response curves and justify your tuning parameters based on the system's identified transfer function.
Materials: Microcontroller with PWM output, NTC thermistor, MOSFET, heat sink with resistive heating element, USB-to-serial interface for data logging, breadboard and jumper wires.
Deadline: September 19, 2026
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