Dynamic Modeling and Stability Analysis of Balancing in Riderless Electric Scooters

Today, electric scooter is a trendy personal mobility vehicle. The rising demand and opportunities attract ride-share services. A common problem of such services is abandoned e-scooters. An autonomous e-scooter capable of moving to the charging station is a solution. This paper focuses on maintaining balance for these riderless e-scooters. The paper presents a nonlinear model for an e-scooter moving with simultaneously varying speed and steering. A PD and a feedback-linearized PD controller stabilize the model. The stability analysis shows that the controllers are ultimately bounded even with parameter uncertainties and measurement inaccuracy. Simulations on a realistic e-scooter with a general demanding path to follow verify the ultimate boundedness of the controllers. In addition, the feedback-linearized PD controller outperforms the PD controller because it has narrower ultimate bounds. Future work focuses on experiments using a self-balancing mechanism installed on an e-scooter.