Observer Design for an Inverted Pendulum with Biased Position Sensors

Abstract

Inverted pendulums can be considered as an approximation for the stabilization problem for legged robots. In this paper we design a linear observer for a reaction wheel inverted pendulum under biased angle measurements. The reaction wheel is a flywheel that allows the free spinning motor to apply the control torque on the pendulum. In this paper we consider the stabilization problem in the presence of a constant unknown bias in the pendulum angle measurements; this problem has important practical implications, allowing for less precise sensor placement as well as a closer approximation for the control of legged robots. This paper provides a theoretical and experimental basis for the estimation of the velocities and the bias in the system.