Flywheel Based Inverted Pendulum

XdTech's flywheel based inverted pendulum epitomizes our passion for innovative design and refreshing ability to develop novel experiments.

While conventional inverted pendulum systems have a linearly or rotating moving support point at the base, thus requiring a large space for setup, XdTech's model IP/NC incorporates a motor and flywheel control actuation at the top, while having a fixed support point at the base. This is analogous to a satellite attitude control system. Being an unstable non-linear system with complex dynamics this device may be analyzed in-depth via several control and modeling experiments.

The plant's component parts are machined from solid aluminum. The unit measures 10" [W] x 6" [D] x 14" [H] (250 x 150 x 350 mm) and weighs about 5.5 lbs (2.5 kg). The controller operates from 110 V AC or 220 V AC.

The system includes the electromechanical system, an integrated cabinet comprising analog interface unit, DC power supply, and power amplifier, an IBM PC based controller using a multifunction DAQ card (PCI bus), and associated application software for implementing digital control under the Matlab® Real Time Workshop environment.