Magic Plank

Welcome to The Home of Magic Plank

The Magic Plank is a unique project that addresses the distinctive nature of the inverted pendulum problem. The inverted pendulum is a classic problem in dynamics and control theory, and is an accepted method of benchmarking various control algorithms. The inverted pendulum problem has been addressed successfully by Segway Incorporated, the company who has produced the Segway Personal Transportation vehicle.

The Segway Personal Transportation vehicle speed is dependent on the way the operator shifts their body weight. When an operator shifts their weight forward the Segway accelerations forward to offset the shift in the equilibrium. When the operator shifts their weight back upright, will cause the Segway to slow down and return to the original state of equilibrium of the Segway being perfectly perpendicular to the surface of the terrain. The Segway turns when one of the handle on the left side of the steering column is twisted; this simply just varies the speeds between each of the two motors rotating the Segway.

The Magic Plank will address the inverted pendulum problem similar to that of Segway Incorporated. However, >> Read the Project Overview

More About Magic Plank

Project Files >> Read the complete documentation of the Magic Plank, including ideas, the process, and all the research behind the software.

Team Members >> Interested more in the minds behind the Magic Plank? Please take some time and read about the team members.