Development of a Three-Dimensional-Flywheel Robotic System

Authors: Chung-Chun Hsiao, Yu-Kai, Ting, Kai-Yuan Liu, Pang-Wei Yen, Jia-Ying Tu

Abstract:

In this paper, a new design of spherical robotic system based on the concepts of gimbal structure and gyro dynamics is presented. Robots equipped with multiple wheels and complex steering mechanics may increase the weight and degrade the energy transmission efficiency. In addition, the wheeled and legged robots are relatively vulnerable to lateral impact and lack of lateral mobility. Therefore, the proposed robotic design uses a spherical shell as the main body for ground locomotion, instead of using wheel devices. Three spherical shells are structured in a similar way to a gimbal device and rotate like a gyro system. The design and mechanism of the proposed robotic system is introduced. In addition, preliminary results of the dynamic model based on the principles of planar rigid body kinematics and Lagrangian equation are included. Simulation results and rig construction are presented to verify the concepts.

Keywords: Gyro, gimbal, Lagrange equation, spherical robots.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1100314

References:

[1] H. B. Brown, Jr. and X. Yangsheng, "A single-wheel, gyroscopically stabilized robot," New York, NY, USA, 1996, pp. 3658-63.
[2] X. Yangsheng, H. B. Brown, Jr., and A. Kwok Wai, "Dynamic mobility with single-wheel configuration," vol. 18, pp. 728-38, 07/ 1999.
[3] B. Cazzolato, J. Harvey, C. Dyer, K. Fulton, E. Schumann, T. Zhu, et al., "Modeling, simulation and control of an electric diwheel," in Australasian Conference on Robotics and Automation, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 2011, p. Australian Robotics and Automation Association Inc.; Monash University.
[4] R. Chase and A. Pandya, "A Review of Active Mechanical Driving Principles of Spherical Robots," vol. 1, pp. 3-23, / 2012.
[5] A. Halme, T. Schonberg, and W. Yan, "Motion control of a spherical mobile robot," in Proceedings of 4th IEEE International Workshop on Advanced Motion Control New York, NY, USA, 1996, pp. 259-64.
[6] K. Jayoung, H. Kwon, and L. Jihong, "A rolling robot: design and implementation," in 7th Asian Control Conference, Piscataway, NJ, USA, 2009, pp. 1474-9.
[7] C. Wei-Hsi, C. Ching-Pei, Y. Wei-Shun, L. Chang-Hao, and L. Pei-Chun, "Design and implementation of an omnidirectional spherical robot Omnicron," in IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics, Piscataway, NJ, USA, 2012, pp. 719-24.
[8] W.-H. Chen, C.-P. Chen, J.-S. Tsai, J. Yang, and P.-C. Lin, "Design and implementation of a ball-driven omnidirectional spherical robot," Mechanism and Machine Theory, vol. 68, pp. 35-48, 2013.
[9] C. E. Thorne and M. Yim, "Towards the Development of Gyroscopically Controlled Micro Air Vehicles," in IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 9-13 May 2011, Piscataway, NJ, USA, 2011, pp. 26-31.
[10] C. E. Thorne, "Design and analysis of a gyroscopically controlled micro air vehicle," 3498010 Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Ann Arbor, 2011.