Comparison of angular velocity estimation methods for reaction wheel inverted pendulum control

The reaction wheel inverted pendulum (RWIP) is widely used in education and research due to its complex and unstable dynamics, representing a classic challenge in control engineering. Although various controllers such as PID, LQR, and swing-up techniques are applied to stabilize the RWIP, the presence of measurement noise can compromise the accuracy of the angular velocity estimation of the pendulum. This study aims to develop and compare the effectiveness of a reduced-order state estimator versus a differentiator in stabilizing the RWIP using state feedback with pole placement. The methodology involves the mechanical and electrical modeling of the system, followed by the design of a state feedback controller. Simulations were conducted in MATLAB/Simulink to evaluate the performance of the two angular velocity estimation methods in the presence of measurement noise. The inclusion of realistic elements such as actuator saturation and system nonlinearities ensures the practical applicability of the controller.