Wireless control of an inverted pendulum
Balancing an inverted pendulum on a cart is a well-known control problem and is often used as benchmark in literature. The control objective is to design a controller which stabilizes the pendulum in upright position. In this case, the set-up is equipped with wireless nodes in order to analyze the effect of inevitable network imperfections induced by wireless communication. The inverted pendulum system has two degrees of freedom namely the horizontal translation of the cart and the angle of the pendulum, being measured by means of two optical encoders. The sensor data of both encoders are independently transmitted to the controller node via wireless communication. The only actuator is a DC motor which can deliver a force to the cart causing a translational motion.