An inverted pendulum (also called a cart and pole) consists of a thin rod attached at its bottom to a moving cart. Whereas a normal pendulum is stable when hanging downwards, a vertical inverted pendulum is inherently unstable, and must be actively balanced in order to remain upright, typically by moving the cart horizontally as part of a feedback system.

The inverted pendulum is a classic problem in dynamics and control theory and widely used as benchmark for testing control algorithms (PID controllers, neural networks, genetic algorithms, etc). Variations on this problem include multiple links, allowing the motion of the cart to be commanded while maintaining the pendulum, and balancing the cart-pendulum system on a see-saw. The inverted pendulum is related to rocket or missile guidance, where thrust is actuated at the bottom of a tall vehicle. The understanding of a similar problem is built in the technology of Segway, a self-balancing transportation device. The largest implemented use are on huge lifting cranes on shipyards. When moving the shipping containers back and forth, the cranes move the box accordingly so that it never swings or sways. It always stays perfectly positioned under the operator even when moving or stopping quickly.

Another way that an inverted pendulum may be stabilized, without any feedback or control mechanism, is by oscillating the support rapidly up and down. If the oscillation is sufficiently strong (in terms of its acceleration and amplitude) then the inverted pendulum can recover from perturbations in a strikingly counterintuitive manner. If the driving point moves in simple harmonic motion, the pendulum's motion is described by the Mathieu equation.

In practice, the inverted pendulum is frequently made of an aluminum strip, mounted on a ball-bearing pivot; the oscillatory force is conveniently applied with a jigsaw.