Robot Balances on a Single Spherical Wheel

dalangalma writes "Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute have developed a new kind of robot called the Ballbot that balances on a steel ball. Using a mechanism similar to a ball mouse, the Ballbot uses rollers to drive its single, spherical wheel and balance in place or glide around the room. The promise of such dynamically stable robots is that they can be much taller without having to have a wide base, making them much more suitable for working with humans. They are also much more agile, since they can be pushed out of the way easily without falling over. You can read the press release or check out the project's web page when it recovers from traffic."

Comments

Re:i'm surprised this hasnt come around sooner...

[Mark Programmer]

Similar, but different.

The overall concept is the same (in the sense that you have a system to balance and probably similar mathematics to do it), but the single point of contact with the ground makes for a different solution matrix. Segways need only balance in one dimension; this robot has to account for two, and it must solve for its balance with one manipulator. To add to the complexity, it must also navigate and motivate itself; a Segway's navigation system takes advantage of the sensors and processor installed in all of its cargo (a handy feature!) to offset the 'heavy lifting' of directional goals.

I believe this project may also pre-date the segway by a few years, if you look at the papers published on it.

Power issues, thinness

[Mark Programmer]

FTA:

"When Ballbot is not in operation, it stands in place on three retractable legs."

So 'nervous balance' motions won't be necessary, one could assume.

As for the thinness issue: it is precisely the personal space issue that makes a thin robot useful in a crowded public space. Our perception of personal space factors in the personal space of the other person. So a robot that is as wide as one's 'personal space bubble' causes people interacting with it to give it even more room. The thin chassis on this robot alleviates that problem by only taking up an amount of space roughly equivalent to the human torso, so that a person's "personal space guess" comes out accurately.

Ballbot in action

[novus ordo]

There are some videos available on youtube, in case you want to spare them some bandwidth.