Inverted Pendulum 

Jan. 2023 - Present (Work in Progress)

To make an inherently unstable system stable through the use of electronics is a fascinating idea to me, and that's where the motivation for this project comes from. The goal is to have the pendulum stand upright and correct for minor disturbances.

As of right now, the reaction wheel has been manufactured. The wheel is aluminum and was manufactured in Florida Tech's machine shop by me. The neck and base of the pendulum are a combination of aluminum 20x20 mm extrusion, aluminum bar, and 3D-printed PLA. A gyroscope is mounted on the neck of the pendulum to measure its angle, and a magnetic encoder will be placed on the motor shaft to read its current position. This data will be sent to an Arduino, and once the signal is processed, the Arduino will send a corresponding signal to the motor. This should keep the pendulum upright.