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Robots With Square Wheels?
Roland Piquepaille writes "About eighteen months ago, I told you about a tricycle with square wheels which needed a specially designed road. But now, Distributed Robotics, a company from Troy, N.Y., is developing robots with square wheels which don't need specific roads. These new 'cars' propel themselves on flat surfaces by taking advantage of gravity. This might sound crazy, but the inventors think it could lead to new robots and toys, and more generally to new micro-machines or MEMS applications."
So, instead of a donut for a flat, do you get a danish?
The opposite of progress is congress
OMG
"The shifting weight sequentially drives each wheel that is under the weight to sit flat on the ground, thus moving the other wheels in a rotational manner, and the car in a linear direction; reversing the direction of the rotating weight, reverses the direction of the car. There are also several methods for steering the car that are under development" says Steven Winckler, President of Global Composites.
This thing has a rotating hammer around its roof and just moves around based on the shifting weight.
Thats should be fun on the motorway in a morning
Why are folks so obsessed with literally reinventing the wheel?
liqbase
With square wheels, these new and improved robots are especially well adapted to climbing stairs. Do you have stairs in your house?
SIG: TAKE OFF EVERY 'CAPTAIN'!!
Rev.2 will have triangelshaped wheels. The benefit You might ask? Well, 1 less hump pr. rotation.
I think this is a really good idea for moving any sort of vehicle forward. However, I have an idea that might make it even more efficient... perhaps they could cut off the corners of the wheels to create an octagonal wheel, which would mean less force would be required to turn the wheel. Maybe, somewhere down the line, it could be expanded even further to have more sides and even fewer sharp angles. Now that I think of it, perhaps the edge of the wheel could be configured in some sort of smooth "curve" to eliminate corners altogether... hmmm... imagine what it could evolve into someday.
It looks like these improvements of mine could really take off and go somewhere. I'd better patent it.
This might sound crazy, but the inventors think it could lead to new robots
Will these be killer robots with lasers? If so, put me down for about 50 of them, and deliver them to Roland's place.
I think they are trying to reinvent the wheel here...
"Thats should be fun on the motorway in a morning"
True. Running over "robots, micro machines, novelty toys, and others" on your way to work might give you a flat.
I don't know how parents will take to a toy with four spinning pointy wheels and a rotating hammer on top.
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
::sings:: Weeee're on the islannnd of miiiisfit tooooyyyys....
Okay, I'll go sit in my [square] corner now.
How can a post be modded "overrated" or "underrated" when it hasn't been rated yet?
The next blog entry on a page hit whore's site is ready now, but subscribers can see it early.
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
Looks like Rudolph's misfit train will finally have a purpose.
AccountKiller
Now you can have square wheels to go with your box car
He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
Scientists make use of extensive surplus budget to create the new threadless screw.
"We think this new screw will help the industry by providing a less complex fastening device for the end users, and it should be more economical for manufacturers as well."
The new threadless screw serves the same function as a traditional screw, but doesn't require a complex torque-riddled installaton process. Simple repeated impacts will drive the new screw home with far less effort.
"The average consumer is often frustrated with traditional screw technology. Do you need flat heads, phillips, star-point? Will sheet metal screw threads work, or do you need the heftier wood threads? Self-threading points, or rounded? It's mind-boggling! These new screws are great. They only have one head type, and you just pick the length and heft you need. That's all!"
Scientists expect the threadless screw to be a big hit in 2006, and look forward to tackling the next problem at hand.
"We're thinking of developing a shorter lever next year... One that doesn't require so much space to operate. It will have less leverage, but most people don't really use the leverage their current levers provide."
Just replace the offset weight by a helium balloon.
Reduce, reuse, cycle
It seems that we have come full square...