Balance Control of Ball and Wheel Systems via Feedback Linearization

In this paper, a control laboratory experiment, called the ball and wheel system, is introduced. The objective of this control system is to control the wheel such that the ball is balanced around its equilibrium position. This system is inherently nonlinear and unstable. The experimental setup of this system is very simple, easy to build, and suitable for the study of the nonlinear control system. One of salient features of this system is that it is feedback linearizable. Based on feedback linearization, a nonlinear controller is designed to achieve locally asymptotic stability of the system. The experimental results are given to demonstrate and validate the effectiveness of the control scheme