INDEX

S NO TOPIC PAGE NO

1. Abstract 1

2. Introduction 1

3. Components of Electric Unicycle 2-10

4. Block diagram of EUC 11

5. Working of EUC 12

6. Conclusion 13

7. Bibliography 14
 ABSTRACT

1. Self-Balancing Unicycle is based on the principle of inverted pendulum. It

consists of both hardware and software implementation. Mechanical model is based on
the state space design of the cart pendulum system. To find its stable space inverted
position, a generic feedback controller i.e. a PID controller is used. According to the
situation, we have to control both angle of pendulum and position of cart. Mechanical
design consists of brushless DC motor Hub Motor, Arduino controller unit, IMU sensor
Inertial Measurement Unit and motor driver as a basic need. The acceleration and angle
with respect to vertical ground is provided by the IMU sensor. The motor controller
which is attached with the motor controls the speed of the motor. These system
parameters determine the force needed to balance the unicycle. The unicycle is
prevented from falling by giving acceleration to the wheel according to its inclination
from the vertical. If the cycle is tilted by an angle, along the frame of the wheels, the
Centre of mass of the body will experience a pseudo force which will apply a torque
opposite to the direction of tilt.

INTRODUCTION

2. The desire for new forms of transportation is an ongoing pursuit of modern man.
Some of the challenges of designing vehicles revolve around high energy-efficiency
while maintaining good usability. A self-balancing unicycle is compact personal
transporter. The rider controls the speed by leaning forwards or backwards. The self-
balancing mechanism uses gyroscopes, accelerometers to maintain the position of the
unicycle. A self-balancing unicycle is commercial unit in the direction of travel only with
lateral stability provided by the rider.

3. As it is one wheel, the speed of the motor also needs to be controlled properly to
get the stability. All the works of controlling the motor is centered in a programming
device called Arduino. It acts as the brain of the whole system in order to keep the
vehicle upward without fall. Due to the fact that the majority of unicycles use a direct
drive (an electric brushless motor that is directly mounted inside wheels), they do not
have gearboxes, hence allowing for smooth and dynamic acceleration.
 COMPONENTS OF ELECTRIC UNICYCLE

4. The components used in the electric unicycle are inertial measurement unit
(IMU), microcontroller, gyroscope, accelerometer, Li-Ion battery, motor controller and a
brushless direct current (BLDC) hub motor. The detail study of the components is
discussed as follows:

(a). Inertial Measurement Unit :

(i). An inertial measurement unit is an electronic device that measures

and reports a body's specific force, angular rate, and sometimes the
orientation of the body, using a combination of accelerometers,
gyroscopes, and sometimes magnetometers. The inertial measurement
unit consists of three different sensors that soldered together on one
board. The three sensors are accelerometer, the gyroscope and the
magnetometer.

(ii). Accelerometer:

(aa). An accelerometer is an electromechanical device used to

measure acceleration forces. Such forces may be static, like the
continuous force of gravity or, as is the case with many mobile
devices, dynamic to sense movement or vibrations. The
accelerometer is used to measure the change of velocity at a time
(acceleration). When the object is at rest (in this case unicycle
at 90° upward), the velocity is zero. When it fall forward or
backward, there is a change in velocity. The change in velocity over
the time will be measured by accelerometer. The used of
gyroscope is to measure the rate of change of angles. The
complete three axis gyroscope will measure the changes at all
angle. The angles are called the pitch (x-axis), roll (y-axis) and yaw
(z-axis).

Piezo Electric Accelerometer

 (ab). An accelerometer works on the principle of the piezoelectric
effect. Imagine a cuboidal box with a small ball inside it, like in the
picture above. The walls of this box are made with piezoelectric
crystals. Whenever you tilt the box, the ball is forced to move in the
direction of the inclination due to gravity. The wall that the ball
collides with creates tiny piezoelectric currents. There are three
pairs of opposite walls in a cuboid. Each pair corresponds to an
axis in 3D space: X, Y, and Z axes. Depending on the current
produced from the piezoelectric walls, we can determine the
direction of inclination and its magnitude.

(iii) Gyroscope:

(aa). A gyroscope is a device used for measuring or maintaining

orientation and angular velocity. It is a spinning wheel or disc in
which the axis of rotation is free to assume any orientation by itself.
When rotating, the orientation of this axis is unaffected by tilting or
rotation of the mounting, according to the conservation of angular
momentum.

(ab). It uses Earth’s gravity to help determine orientation. Its

design consists of a freely-rotating disk called a rotor, mounted onto
a spinning axis in the center of a larger and more stable wheel. As
the axis turns, the rotor remains stationary to indicate the central
gravitational pull, and thus which way is “down.”

Gyroscope
 (ac). MEMS gyroscope work on the principle of Coriolis
acceleration. Imagine that there is a fork-like structure that is in a
constant back-and-forth motion. It is held in place using
piezoelectric crystals. Whenever you try to tilt this arrangement, the
crystals experience a force in the direction of inclination. This is
caused as a result of the inertia of the moving fork. The crystals
thus produce a current in consensus with the piezoelectric effect,
and this current is amplified. The values are then refined by the
host microcontroller to detect changes in the orientation and
angular velocity. MEMS gyroscopes have shown high performance
and low power consumption. They are produced on a large scale at
low cost with the small form factor for the consumer electronics
market. MEMS gyroscopes are used in the image stabilization,
automotive airbag systems and roll-over prevention, and have
various other potential applications.

(iv). Both accelerometer and gyroscope must work together to balance

the unicycle. This is because with accelerometer alone, there is much
noise produces although when the object is at rest mode and
accelerometer cannot differentiate between the acceleration caused by
the movement or the gravity. So, the tilt angle could not be defined well
because of these noises. If the gyroscope is used alone, there will be drift
phenomenon occurs. The drift phenomenon is an error that the object
is producing an output although the motor is not moving. Thus, the
object cannot stand still and it is hard to achieve the stability.

(v). MPU6050:

(aa). It is a IMU sensors which usually consist of two or more

parts. They are: accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer and
altimeter. The MPU6050 has 6 DOF (Degree of Freedom) or it is a
six axis IMU sensor, which means it gives six values as output,
three values from the accelerometer and three values from the
gyroscope. The MPU6050 is a sensor based on MEMS (Micro
Electro Mechanical Systems) technology. Both the accelerometer
and the gyroscope are embedded inside a single chip. This chip
uses I2C (Integrated Circuit) protocol for communication.
 MPU 6050

(vi). Kalman Filter: In order to create a smooth, stable and efficient

system, the data taken from accelerometer and gyroscope need to be
mixed together by using some filter. The filter will combine the data's and
given out a true tilt angle of the unicycle. This exact tilt angle will be used
to create a quick response on the motor. One of the well-known and
commonly used filters is the Kalman Filter which named after the
inventor’s name Dr. Rudolf Kalman. Basically the filter will update the error
from the IMU continuously to keep the stability of the unicycle itself.
It will then produce a single angle value which is much accurate and less
noise.

(b). Microcontroller:

(i). Microcontroller is defined as a tiny size computer which consists of

a solo integrated circuit. A microcontroller is equipped with a processor
core, a memory and programmable input/output peripheral. It has also
contained a small amount of random access memory in the form of
ferroelectric random access memory. Microcontrollers are basically
designed for embedded implementations. The basic demands of
microcontrollers are in automobile industries, medical devices and remote
controls. The Two main types of microcontrollers are named as ATMEGA
328 type and ATMEGA 16 type. The ATMEGA 328 type microcontroller is
used to run the brushless direct current (BLDC) hub wheeled motor. The
second one, ATMEGA 16 type is used to operate the accelerometer which
in turn provides the throttle to the main wheel.
(ii). ATMEGA328 Arduino Board: ATMEGA328P is high performance,
low power controller from Microchip. it is an 8-bit microcontroller based on
AVR RISC architecture. It is the most popular of all AVR controllers as it is
used in Arduino boards. The position values from the IMU sensor are
given to the Arduino board through the analog pins on the board. The
analog values from the gyroscope are converted to digital values using
processor. The PWM signal is provided by the Arduino on the digital pins
which is then given to motor controller. The motor controller processes the
position values and in-turn controls the speed of the motor. Here
Atmega328 along with peripherals acts as the processing device of the
unicycle. 9V supply is given to the Arduino Board.

ATMEGA328 ARDUINO
PINOUT
(c). Hub Motor:

(i). The wheel hub motor is an electric motor that is incorporated into
the hub of a wheel and drives it directly. Hub motors are typically
brushless motors (sometimes called brushless direct current motors or
BLDCs), which is a permanent magnet synchronous electric motor
which is driven by direct current (DC) electricity and it accomplishes
electronically controlled commutation system (commutation is the process
of producing rotational torque in the motor by changing phase currents
through it at appropriate times) instead of a mechanically commutation
system. BLDC motors are also referred as trapezoidal permanent magnet
motors. which replace the commutator and brushes with half-a-dozen or
more separate coils and an electronic circuit. The circuit switches the
power on and off in the coils in turn creating forces in each one that make
the motor spin. Since the brushes press against the axle of a normal
motor, they introduce friction, slow it down, make a certain amount of
noise, and waste energy. That's why brushless motors are often more
efficient, especially at low speeds. Getting rid of the brushes also saves
having to replace them every so often when friction wears them down.

(ii). The motor design especially includes the Hall effect sensors for
controlling the motor. A Hall effect sensor is a device that is used to
measure the magnitude of a magnetic field. Its output voltage is directly
proportional to the magnetic field strength through it. Hall effect sensors
are used for proximity sensing, positioning, speed detection, and current
sensing applications. Hall sensors or rotary encoders are most commonly
used to sense the position of the rotor and are positioned around the
stator. Hall sensor provides the information to synchronize stator armature
excitation with rotor position. The rotor position feedback from the sensor
helps to determine when to switch the armature current.

(iii). Advantages of Brushless DC Motors:

(aa). One of the biggest advantages of hub motors is that they

require little or no maintenance. They are an entirely independent
drive system that retain all of their components inside the motor
casing.

(ab). Better speed versus torque characteristics

(ac). High dynamic response

 (ad). High efficiency

(ae). Long operating life due to a lack of electrical and friction

losses

(ae). Noiseless operation

(af). Higher speed ranges

HUB MOTOR Hall sensor

(d). Motor controller:

(i). A motor controller is a device or group of devices that serves to

govern in some predetermined manner the performance of an electric
motor. A motor controller might include a manual or automatic means for
starting and stopping the motor, selecting forward or reverse rotation,
selecting and regulating the speed, regulating or limiting the torque, and
protecting against overloads and faults. Every electric motor has to have
some sort of controller. The motor controller will have differing features
and complexity depending on the task that the motor will be performing.
 MOTOR CONTROLLER

(ii). It is a 350W 36V 15A motor controller with a power lock feature. It
has a wide range of input/ output pins. The battery pack delivers 36V 18A
which is fed to the motor controller. The controller provides output to the
motor controller with 3 phase wire and 5 control pins. It has 3 pin input
connection for throttle and 2 pin for reversing the direction of motor. The
hub motor controller controls the speed of the controller using the position
values from the controller.

(g). Battery Management System (BMS):

(i). A Battery management system (BMS) is any electronics system

that manages a rechargeable battery (cell or battery pack), such as by
protecting the battery from operating outside its safe operation Area,
monitoring its state, Calculating secondary data, reporting that data,
controlling its environment, authenticating it and/or balancing it.

(ii). A battery pack build together with an external communication data

bus is a smart pack must be charged by a smart battery charger.

(iii) The BMS will also control the recharging of the battery by
redirecting the recovered energy (i.e.- from regenerative braking) back into
the battery pack (typically composed of a few batteries, each composed of
a few cells).
 BMS

(h). Rechargeable battery:

(i). A rechargeable battery, storage battery, secondary cell, or

accumulator is a type of electrical battery which can be charged,
discharged into a load, and recharged many times, as opposed to a
disposable or primary battery, which is supplied fully charged and
discarded after use. It is composed of one or more electrochemical cells.
The term "accumulator" is used as it accumulates and stores energy
through a reversible electrochemical reaction.

(ii). Here Li-Ion battery is used because of its durability and long life.
Li-Ion batteries are classification of rechargeable batteries. These
batteries are mostly used for consumer electronics. Chemicals used in Li-
Ion batteries are lithium cobalt oxide (LCO), lithium manganese oxide
(LMO), lithium iron phosphate (LFP).

Li-Ion BATTERY PACK

ppPACK
 BLOCK DIAGRAM OF ELECTRIC UNICYCLE

5. The block diagram of self-balancing unicycle consists of a controller Arduino

board with a ATMEGA328 microcontroller on it. MPU6050 module which is basically a
Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) with gyroscope, magnetometer, accelerometer and
altimeter on the module itself control the position of the unicycle.

6. Hub motor which is the heart of the unicycle which drives the unicycle is basically
a motor as a wheel hence the name hub motor. Hub motor is a brushless DC motor with
an integrated controller embedded inside it, consisting of hall sensors which keep the
track of input/output current through the coils. A motor controller drives the hub motor
through relays.

7. Li-Ion Battery Pack is used to drive the hub motor. Here, the Arduino board is the
brain of the unicycle in which program is uploaded through Arduino IDE. It controls the
functioning of the unicycle. The IMU sensor which is interfaced with the arduino helps
give the position values to Arduino and in turn drives the Hub motor through the relay.
 WORKING OF ELECTRIC UNICYCLE

8. There are no physical steering controls whatsoever and instead user uses his
body weight to control direction and speed. The motherboard reads the inclination angle
of the vehicle on an ongoing basis (front/back and left/right) provided by the gyroscopes
of it and it adjusts the motor speed to the detected inclination in order to hold the user in
the upright position. In other words, the electric unicycle prevents the loss of balance
through the change of motor speed. It means that the motor is expected to speed up to
maintain our position as upright after we shift our body weight to the front. By analogy, it
is expected to slow down after we shift our body weight to the back to achieve the same
effect.

Arduino MPU 6050 connections

9. The IMU6050 sensor which is placed on the unicycle helps to calculate the
position of unicycle. The position values from the IMU sensor are given to the Arduino
board through the analog pins on the board. The analog values from the gyroscope are
converted to digital values using processor. The PWM signal is provided by the Arduino
on the digital pins which is then given to motor controller. The motor controller
processes the position values and in-turn controls the speed of the motor.

10. Most electric unicycles regain the energy used for braking – their motors function
as power generators then and charge the battery of these devices. This principle is also
used while riding downhill – the energy such recovered is sent back to the battery. The
maximum speed is limited by the motor power, energy accumulated in batteries and
software. While reaching the maximum speed, unicycles either prevent further
acceleration or brake by tilting their brakes backwards, along with the user (so-called
"tilt back effect"). The effect is intended to warn the user of that they have reached the
maximum speed and should refrain from further acceleration (by shifting their body
weight slightly to the back).
 CONCLUSION

11. Electric unicycle is NOT A TOY. It functions as an environmental friendly

transport which is portable and provides a flexible alternative for people to move
around, short or long distance. Its quicker & easier than walking, and most can be
driven in pedestrianized areas and inside buildings. As It is portable, It doesn’t require
any parking space . The environmental impact is smaller than for cars or motorbikes, as
SBEUs are smaller and lighter and need much less energy to move (plus they also
usually use smart technologies like regenerative braking, i.e. capturing your kinetic
energy and putting it back into the batter for later use when slowing down or going
downhill).it also encompasses led light ,Bluetooth, usb port for safer & comfortable ride.