Riderless bicycles, which belong to the class of narrow autonomous vehicles, offer numerous potentials to improve living conditions in the smart cities of the future. Various obstacles exist in achieving full autonomy for this class of autonomous vehicles. One of these significant challenges lie within the synthesis of automatic control algorithms that provide self-balancing and maneuvering capabilities for this class of autonomous vehicles. Indeed, the nonlinear, underactuated, and non-minimum phase dynamics of riderless bicycles offer rich challenges for automatic control of these autonomous vehicles. In this paper, we report on implementing linear parameter varying (LPV)-based controllers for balancing our constructed autonomous bicycle, which is equipped with linear electric actuators for automatic steering, in the upright position. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.

Date Published: 15 May 2019
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 11021, Unmanned Systems Technology XXI, 110210C (15 May 2019); doi: 10.1117/12.2519195

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 11021:
Unmanned Systems Technology XXI
Charles M. Shoemaker; Hoa G. Nguyen; Paul L. Muench, Editor(s)