Stochastic randomized control on bicycle balance

Bicycles are widely used for transportation, exercise, and recreation and play an important role in urban mobility. Individuals benefit from the fact that cycling is a healthy and cheap form of transport. Moreover, in urban areas, cycling can sometimes prove to be faster than other transport modes and also allows cyclists to avoid traffic jams. For society, the advantages of cycling include environmental sustainability, cheap infrastructure requirements, and improvements in public health. However, there are some challenges for the existing bicycles in the market including:

1. Bicycle is statically unstable, especially for old and less flexible people.
2. Bicycles commonly are subjected to various sources of disturbances, making bicycle control more challenging.

This project is to develop a randomized control algorithm to address the aforementioned issues. The randomized controller will be designed firstly in theory and then implemented on a real bicycle to test. This control method will be based on a fully probabilistic design where the control goal is to keep the bicycle stay balanced while subjecting various sources of randomness. Then, the developed controller will be implemented on a bike provided in the lab, while different sensors will be used to collect the signals and a motor to provide the torque. This project is suitable for people who have basic control theory knowledge and electrical electronic knowledge. The applicants should have good experimental skills, mathematical skills and programming skills. The c programming skill is desirable but not essential.

Academic qualifications 

A first-class honours degree, or a distinction at master level, or equivalent achievements ideally in Electrical Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or control automation. 

English language requirement 

If your first language is not English, comply with the University requirements for research degree programmes in terms of English language. 

Application process 

Prospective applicants are encouraged to contact the supervisor, Dr Yuyang Zhou (Y.Zhou@napier.ac.uk) to discuss the content of the project and the fit with their qualifications and skills before preparing an application. 

The application must include:  

Research project outline of 2 pages (list of references excluded). The outline may provide details about 

• Background and motivation, explaining the importance of the project, should be supported also by relevant literature. You can also discuss the applications you expect for the project results. 
• Research questions or 
• Methodology: types of data to be used, approach to data collection, and data analysis methods. 
• List of references 

The outline must be created solely by the applicant. Supervisors can only offer general discussions about the project idea without providing any additional support. 

• Statement no longer than 1 page describing your motivations and fit with the project. 
• Recent and complete curriculum vitae. The curriculum must include a declaration regarding the English language qualifications of the candidate. 
• Supporting documents will have to be submitted by successful candidates. 
• Two academic references (but if you have been out of education for more than three years, you may submit one academic and one professional reference), on the form can be downloaded here. 

Applications can be submitted here.

Download a copy of the project details here.