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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."
"single spherical wheel" = a ball
re:"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. "
Until said humans goes down a flight of stairs.
*Oof*
*Bounce*
*Expensive crashey noises*
At this rate we'll have-em screaming "exterminate" in no time.
(and yes I know post 2005 Daleks can do everything and go everywhere - I'm talking pre-video-game dalek)
welcome our big balled overlords
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.
Take care,
Mark
There is a solution...
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.
Take care,
Mark
There is a solution...
You remember how they have sex but you can't remember their name?.. ?
I can't count the times I've asked myself something similar in the morning.
Incorrect. Weeblots wobble, but they don't fall down.
That's a nice system. There are some annoying limitations, though. It's tough to change the orientation of the robot, although you can handle that if you have a rotational joint further up so you can rotate the torso. Small diameter balls have the same problems as small diameter wheels - it's easy to get stuck in small depressions. That's why the Segway has such big wheels. And driving a sphere is always a tough problem mechanically. Most of the solutions have trouble with dirt accumulating on the drive wheels, which is why optical mice have replaced ball mice. It's possible to build a spherical electric motor, and that might be the way to go if this concept turns out to be useful.
It's good to see all this activity in self-balancing systems again, having worked on this around 1994-1995, and seen others working on it in the 1980s. Today, you can buy so much of what you need off the shelf, like good INS units. We used to waste too much time building custom stuff.