Robotics specialists from a group led by ETH professor Raffaello D’Andrea have created a new, cube-shaped robot that can balance on its pivot and compensate for external disturbances. What makes the One-Wheel Cubli unique? Unlike its predecessors, it only requires a single reaction wheel.
It was almost ten years ago that researchers led by ETH robotics professor Raffaello D’Andrea made a splash with a robotic cube that was capable of balancing on its pivot. Multiple reaction wheels in the cube’s interior were able to compensate for disturbances to a certain degree, making it harder to knock off balance. It was also able to jump up and move around via controlled falls.
Now it has a successor: the One-Wheel Cubli. That’s the name D’Andrea’s workshop gave to this new balancing artist. It only requires a single reaction wheel for its balancing act. Instead of additional wheels, it is equipped – like a tightrope walker – with a balancing pole. As a result, the inertias differ in the two directions of motion, allowing the One-Wheel Cubli to stabilize both directions simultaneously. In the latest issue of Mechatronics, the researchers introduce the One-Wheel Cubli.
Reference
Matthias Hofer, Michael Muehlebach, Raffaello D’Andrea, The One-Wheel Cubli: A 3D inverted pendulum that can balance with a single reaction wheel, Mechatronics, Volume 91, 2023, 102965, ISSN 0957-4158, doi: external page 10.1016/j.mechatronics.2023.102965.