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You've Never Seen a Robot Drive System Like This Before — Parallax Forums

You've Never Seen a Robot Drive System Like This Before

Ron CzapalaRon Czapala Posts: 2,418
edited 2011-09-19 05:46 in General Discussion
http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/diy/youve-never-seen-a-drive-system-like-this-before

What you're looking here is a hemispherical omnidirectional gimbaled wheel, or HOG wheel. It's nothing more than a black rubber hemisphere that rotates like a spinning top, with servos that can tilt it left and right and forwards and backwards. Powered by this simple drive system, the robot that it's attached to can scoot around the floor in ways that I would have to characterize as "alarmingly fast."
Before I go on about the design, have a look at just what this thing is capable of. Its creator, Curtis Boirum, a grad student at Bradley University, in Peoria, Ill., demoed it at the 2011 RoboGames symposium:

Comments

  • graffixgraffix Posts: 389
    edited 2011-09-18 05:43
    Very nice find Ron,Thanks
  • PJAllenPJAllen Banned Posts: 5,065
    edited 2011-09-18 05:49
    How does this do in a controlled sense, simply navigating pylons?
    It does a lot of spinning -- OK, spinning and tumbling.
    There are known "issues".

    [Also, Boirum acknowledges that it's an old idea.]
  • Bill ChennaultBill Chennault Posts: 1,198
    edited 2011-09-18 08:04
    Ron--

    Pretty amazing. I wonder what would happen if there were THREE hemispheres and the outboard wheels were ditched?

    --Bill
  • kwinnkwinn Posts: 8,697
    edited 2011-09-18 10:30
    Bill Chennault wrote: »
    Ron--

    Pretty amazing. I wonder what would happen if there were THREE hemispheres and the outboard wheels were ditched?

    --Bill

    Also my first question on seeing the video.
  • $WMc%$WMc% Posts: 1,884
    edited 2011-09-18 10:57
    Did someone say HEMi ?
    '
    Nice find Ron
  • Bill ChennaultBill Chennault Posts: 1,198
    edited 2011-09-18 12:51
    $WMc%--
    Did someone say HEMi ?
    :):):)

    --Bill
  • $WMc%$WMc% Posts: 1,884
    edited 2011-09-18 17:02
    Hello Bill...
    '
    A little different hemi than where use to, But a cool one at that.
    '
    I think it should be called a SPHERICAL drive since it runs on the out-side of the wheel and not the inside.
    '
    Heres the difference between outside and inside
    5_7-head.jpg
    480 x 302 - 18K
    MDS-engine.jpg
    411 x 317 - 21K
    Hemi cuda.JPG
    855 x 570 - 64K
    bmp
    bmp
    sox&martinhemi.bmp
    353K
  • Bill ChennaultBill Chennault Posts: 1,198
    edited 2011-09-18 17:29
    Walt--

    Those are the most beautiful pictures I have ever seen in my life. Sox and Martin should be immortalized.

    --Bill
  • W9GFOW9GFO Posts: 4,010
    edited 2011-09-18 17:43
    Pffftttt! Only two valves per cylinder!

    Just kidding!

    That drive system reminds me of the Voith Schneider drive. Someday I'd like to build a wheeled version... someday.
  • WBA ConsultingWBA Consulting Posts: 2,935
    edited 2011-09-18 21:03
    That is really unique and very clever. One idea that comes to mind to utilize the concept is to use it for the positioning mechanism for a piece of paper in a drawing machine. Have the mount for the HOG wheel fixed mounted with a piece of paper under the wheel and then also have a pen fixed mounted over the paper. The HOG wheel could move the paper around while the pen lifts up or down to draw. Might have to use 2 HOG wheels to prevent errant travel of of the paper with one wheel's tilt adjustments.
  • Martin_HMartin_H Posts: 4,051
    edited 2011-09-19 05:46
    We discussed this back on the Robotics sub-forum a few months ago. I thought Erco's reply was pretty funny:

    http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?132872-Singularity-Drive-System&p=1016570#post1016570
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