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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'!!
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.
The vehicle described here, and built as a prototype, has 4 square wheels each with different orientations (evenly spaced). When the front left wheel sits flat the rear left wheel is 1/16th of a turn from being flat. Shifting the center of gravity of the car towards that rear left wheel causes it to 'fall' forward to sit flat, which rotates all 4 wheels 1/16th of a turn. The front left wheel is now 1/16th past flat (and 3/16ths from the lying flat on its next side) and the rear right wheel is 1/16th from being flat. Shift the weight to the rear right and it rolls forward another 1/16th of a turn. This produces moderately wobbly and slightly jerky motion, but could prove to be a simpler method of locomotion at very small scales, especially if magnetism instead of gravity is used to pull the wheels down/forward.
Sometimes reading the article reads to fascinating statements, which answer the question you apparently pose after reading only the blurb. Such as this tidbit: ""For use in micro-machines or MEMS applications, one of the key benefits is that the motor and gearing moving the shifting weight is all in a plane parallel to the motion surface. No right angle gearboxes are required. The connection between the two axels can be accomplished by simple linkages""
"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.
Because it's a new way to do an old task. Is it practical? I don't know, how many "impractical" or "silly" things later were found to be extremely useful?
Looking at the article I was just struck with a sense of "whoa neat" at the simplicity of the idea yet the fact (as far as I know) it's never been done before (using a "helicopter" of shifting weight to propel a car forward by it's properly aligned square wheels). Sometimes it's not so much "why?" but "why hasn't anyone ever thought of this before?".
--- www.f-theocean.com
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
I know that you are just asking a question, and indeed a good question. I am simply trying to forestall the opinion that because the advantages are not immediately to be seen, this must be a waste.
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