Fuzzy control of a pendulum-driven cart

This paper proposes a new fuzzy control algorithm for the pendulum-driven cart system. The pendulum-driven cart is a novel mechanism that gives a new driving concept of ground mobile robot which employs only internal thrust and static friction. The system has two degrees of freedom, i.e. the pendulum angle and the cart position, but one control actuator mounted on the pivot of the pendulum. It aims to drive the cart to track a desired trajectory by applying the control torque properly. The proposed fuzzy control algorithm simplifies the control approach from the other closed-loop control algorithms, and presents more effective simulation results. Realization of the algorithm is discussed. Simulation results are presented for comparative purposes in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. Experimental results are also presented in the paper by using the LEGO Mindstorms kit and the ROBOLAB 2.5 Software. The experimental results show that the pendulum-driven cart system is realizable, and the proposed fuzzy control algorithm is effective.