tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12273921.post115557834327351504..comments2024-02-13T02:04:31.705-08:00Comments on Robot Gossip: Balancing Ballbot Demonstrates Dynamic StabilityProspectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08789791369325078777noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12273921.post-1166911109552869302006-12-23T13:58:00.000-08:002006-12-23T13:58:00.000-08:004 wheeled Unicycle RobotNow meet another balancing...4 wheeled Unicycle Robot<BR/><BR/>Now meet another balancing robot. This one balances on one wheel and apparently uses two RCX bricks and four sensors along with three tires to maintain balance on the axis perpendicular to its unicycle. The robot balances on the main axis by directly powering the wheel. The axis perpendicular to its unicycle is balanced by the set of rotating tires. Check out the video!<BR/><BR/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnRV-ggJmQ4Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12273921.post-1155767434211603952006-08-16T15:30:00.000-07:002006-08-16T15:30:00.000-07:00The main drawback with a design such as this is on...The main drawback with a design such as this is one of safety. If you are going to have balancing robots like these you need to consider what happens if a fault develops with the gyro, or if the battery begins to fail. Can the robot come to a safe stop in such situations, or will it blatantly fall over, potentially causing damage to furniture, people or windows?Bob Mottramhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07508972554031337434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12273921.post-1155585871533758892006-08-14T13:04:00.000-07:002006-08-14T13:04:00.000-07:00Could someone be a bit angry at the world, Theo?I ...Could someone be a bit angry at the world, Theo?<BR/><BR/>I think that recognizing different ways to move a service robot in a crowded room with people is worth mentioning.<BR/><BR/>I am sorry if it not cool enough for you.Prospectorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08789791369325078777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12273921.post-1155581430373929832006-08-14T11:50:00.000-07:002006-08-14T11:50:00.000-07:00What's "ingenious" about this? For one, it's not t...What's "ingenious" about this? <BR/><BR/>For one, it's not the first inverse mouse-ball drive system.<BR/><BR/>And second, it's just a 2D inverted pendulum. The control system is almost entirely LQR (they add a small PI loop to correct for some friction effects). There's no contribution here. This is equilvalent to a homework problem in a masters level controls class (or perhaps an undergraduate student thesis).<BR/><BR/>On top of that, at the moment it can only maneuver well on carpet and can only maneuver in straight lines. (note: it can do disturbance rejection on some other surfaces)<BR/><BR/>It's not impressive. It's a toy. It would be one thing if they had to build their own IMU, but they bought a pre-built IMU. That's where most of the complexity is in this system anyway. <BR/><BR/>It's just not that cool.Ted Pavlichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15297790411942050417noreply@blogger.com