Stable running control of autonomous bicycle robot

Bicycle is the unstable system in itself. Although there are two methods of steering a handle and moving a weight in order to make a bicycle stable, it is shown that the former is more effective than the latter. This study deals with modeling and stabilizing control problems of a two-wheel bicycle. In the modeling, wheels side slip is taken into consideration. In the control, an optimal feedback control for stable running control is obtained. An autonomous bicycle robot is further developed. As a result of experiment, it is shown that the bicycle robot is able to run straight and turn stably. The effectiveness of the two-wheel bicycle model and control law are demonstrated.