Analyze, implement, and tune the control system for a provided reaction-wheel motorcycle platform capable of autonomous lateral balance and forward motion across a 2-meter course. All mechanical hardware was pre-supplied by the course; the work centered on stability analysis, PID controller tuning, and embedded software implementation. 

The motorcycle and flywheel form a coupled dynamic system whose behavior was characterized using a state-space model, parameterized with the physical measurements of the hardware — including motorcycle mass (0.2948 kg), flywheel mass (0.0695 kg), flywheel radius (0.05 m), and motor constants (Ke = Kt = 0.019). Converting the state-space representation to a transfer function using MATLAB yielded:

G(s) = −1.024s / (s³ + 0.6607s² − 96.56s − 61.92)

With the stability analysis establishing the sign and approximate magnitude of required gains, a PID balance controller was implemented in Arduino C++ using roll angle feedback from the BNO055 IMU. Using MATLAB's pidtune output as an initial reference point, gains were refined through four rounds of hardware testing: 

Forward motion was implemented as an open-loop timed sequence, fully decoupled from the balance loop. Empirical testing over four runs established that the bike covers 2 meters in an average of 1.71 seconds at full duty. A 20% time buffer was added, producing the final sequence: 5-second balance settling delay → 2 seconds at 100% duty → 0.5-second linear ramp-down to 0%. The drive motor also cuts off if tilt exceeds 14°, linking the two control loops through a shared safety condition. 

• Completed the 2-meter autonomous race course in 1.7 seconds

• Zero falls, zero penalties

• Root locus analysis confirmed negative-gain requirement — one positive pole at s = +9.82 confirmed open-loop instability

• Negative-gain PID (Kp = −6000, Ki = −25, Kd = −400) achieved ~3 second settling time through iterative hardware tuning