Control System Design of Self-balanced Bicycles by Control Moment Gyroscope

Abstract

The unmanned bicycle, as a type of unmanned vehicles, has become a research hotspot recently, and one of the most challenging problems for its realization is the method to keep the bicycle balanced. In this paper, we analyze the dynamic model of self-balanced bicycles using a Control Moment Gyroscope (CMG). The gyroscopic theory shows that by making the spinning flywheel precess, the CMG module generates a moment to resist the gravitational moment and keep the bicycle balanced. According to the gyroscopic theory, we design the mechanical structure and control system of the CMG device and use state feedback control to configure the poles in order to keep the system stable. We obtain the possible feedback coefficient according to the behavior of our system by MATLAB simulations and then adjust the feedback coefficient to get a more stable and robust system through physical experiments. The results of our physical experiments show that the feedback control method can been used to keep the bicycle balanced.