Modeling and Experimental Testing of a Two-Wheeled Inverted-Pendulum Transporter

In recent years two-wheeled inverted pendulums have been used as personal transporters. Their maneuverability and small footprint give them desirable properties for such function. However, they are intrinscally unstable and their safety as personal transporters has not been carefully assessed. Dynamic models of these transporters should be developed, and used to investigate failure conditions that would be difficult to safely test with a real machine and human operator. This paper describes the process involved in developing and calibrating such a model. A numerical model of one of these transporters (the Segway i2) was formed and its parameters were matched to the dynamic behavior observed in experimental tests.