Assessment of Linear Set-Point Controllers for a Direct Drive Nonlinear Pendulum

This paper is concerned with the design of linear set - point controllers for a specific nonlinear system: a motor driven pendulum. It is shown that when input constraints and delays are present, the synthesis procedure is non trivial. Even if the design is based on mature theoretical basis, extensive nonlinear simulations are the only practical way to ensure that the linear design offers acceptable tracking performance in a large operation range while respecting the requirements of input constraints and robustness.