The Pole Balancing Problem

The pole balancing problem is a classic in control theory. The case I've set up here is very simple, push the cart left or right in order to balance the pole.

You can also write some code in the editor below to control the motiion of the pole. A good controller should be able to keep the pole balanced and the cart central, even if you nudge it with left or right.

Instructions

Write some JavaScript to keep the poll upright and the cart central for as long as possible. You can nudge the cart with left and right (on the keyboard or the buttons). Click start to get going.

// Your code will be called on each timestep. // You can use the following variables: // angle (in radians, 0 is vertical) // angleRate (in radians per second) // cartPosition (in pixels, 0 is the center) // cartVelocity (in pixels per second) // Simply return a force to apply to the cart. Negative to push it left, positive to push it right. // If you need to hold on to some state you can use the global `state` variable. For example: // if(typeof state.counter === "undefined") { state.counter = 0; } // state.counter++; // You're also free to use methods like console.log() to help you out, if your browser supports them. // Trivial example: return 0;