Real-time remote network control of an inverted pendulum using ST-RTL

This paper describes the use of Simulink Target for Real-Time Linux (ST-RTL) to control over a network a horizontal driven inverted pendulum. ST-RTL is an application developed to provide a cost-effective alternative to the expensive real-time applications that require specialised software and hardware. The application allows performing a number of laboratory scale hard real-time control experiments, which can be remotely monitored and tuned at run-time from a second computer using a TCP/IP connection. The software packages Matlab, Simulink and Real-Time Workshop (RTW), widely used among educational institutions, are used as a controller algorithm development tool. A performance comparison with the commercial Windows based version Real-Time Windows Target has also been carried out. The conclusions show that ST-RTL is a preferable tool since not only does it perform as well as RTW, but it also includes remote networking capabilities to the system.