Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

All-Analog DIY Segway Project

Posted by Soulskill on from the take-out-some-cliff-insurance-buddy dept.

An anonymous reader writes "One of the zany hacker-makers here at MIT just finished this DIY Segway project (video). Difference from the others: it's all analog. The controller is built without a microprocessor or even digital logic. It does use a gyroscope like the real Segway. The functionality looks fairly basic, but the fact that the controller works at all is amazing. The guy has a ton of other projects on his site too. Definitely worth a read for people who enjoy building things."

4 of 141 comments (clear)

  1. Controllers were analog before they were digital. by RoverDaddy · · Score: 4, Informative

    Digital controllers -emulate- analog behavior (at least many of them do). There's a pantload of research and science behind analog control.

    --
    RETURN without GOSUB in line 1050
  2. Re:My thoughts exactly by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Kids these days couldn't imagine trying to implement a PID controller without a microprocessor. It does make it easy to watch what is going on.

    Watching large governors work is pretty cool. No electronics to speak of. Just a properly tuned set of weights and some geometry.

  3. Re:The Land Before CPUs by skywatcher2501 · · Score: 3, Informative

    Talking about spaceflight, the Russians only recently replaced the analogue Soyuz control system with a fully digital one.

  4. Re:I would like to join the chorus by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 3, Informative

    Heisenberg and Planck might disagree with you on that.