the Cubli

source: korbeninfo

Quand on évoque le thème des robots, on pense souvent à des robots de forme humanoïde… puis viennent ensuite les robots qui roulent et les robots qui serpentent, mais avez vous déjà imaginé un robot cubique ?

C’est-ce qu’ont imaginé les ingénieurs du “Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control” basé à Zurich qui ont conçu un robot baptisé Cubli de 15 centimètres de côté capable de se maintenir en équilibre, de se redresser sur un coin ou une arrête et même de se “poser” tout en contrôle. À l’intérieur, tout un système de gyroscope, de balanciers et de moteurs qui lui permettent de réaliser ces prouesses, et tout ça sans fil…

Honnêtement, je ne sais pas si cela aura une application telle quelle, mais la mécanique à l’intérieur intéressera surement le secteur de la robotique.

En tout cas, c’est impressionnant !
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source: wonderfulengineering

Engineers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich’s Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control have developed a mechanical cube that can perform a variety of actions. The 15 cm cube-shaped prototype, called Cubli, is a lot like a robot and can move around using its own internal mechanics and software.

The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology’s (also called ETH) Cubli may just prove to be the prototype that could help in the development of new space exploration vehicles and self-assembling robots. Cubli has three reaction wheels that are each attached to a brushless DC motor. It also consists of movement sensors, a built-in processor and a battery.

The sensors estimate the cubes angle of tilt and the software integrated into the processor calculates how much angular velocity is required by the reaction wheels to maintain that angle. The jumping of the cube is caused by the sudden braking of the reaction wheels which transfers momentum to the body and causes the whole body to jump depending on the pattern of braking of the wheels. Two different jump maneuvers are used to balance Cubli on its edge, the first allowing it to rest on its edge and the second pulling it on to its corner.

Disturbances can easily be detected by Cubli, allowing it to adjust its position to maintain its stance or rotate in place. A controlled fall is used to bring the Cubli to any of the desired edges. Using a combination of falling, jumping and balancing moves, the Cubli is able to “walk” in any desired direction.

As mentioned earlier, the technology incorporated into this simple little cube can be used in a wide variety of future applications, but the people who developed Cubli say that it was designed simply to “jump up, balance and walk”.
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source: isciencetimes

This cube does things other cubes only wish they could do. Called the Cubli, this robotic box is the latest technological breakthrough from the Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control in Zurich, Switzerland. Using motors and inertia sensors inside a metallic frame, Cubli can flip itself over, balance on one edge or corner, and effectively walk itself across a floor. If the floor starts shaking and tilting, it doesn’t bother Cubli; its internal momentum wheels keep it perfectly still.

Researchers say the technology that makes Cubli possible has potential applications in space or in planet exploration. But otherwise, as the developers noted in its promotional video and in the paper explaning the way it works, Cubli just looks cool. The jumping technology, they wrote, is “not only an interesting concept for the control engineer but also also an appealing demonstration for the general public.”

It doesn’t actually jump into the air. Rather, it stands itself upright from a flat resting position by spinning its momentum wheels at a high velocity and then suddenly stopping them, throwing the cube onto one of its corners or edges. Once upright, the momentum wheels torque the opposite direction to stabilize it. The wheels continue subtle rotations depending on which direction the sensors perceive it to be falling, guaranteeing that it perfectly maintains its balance.

All the parts are super basic: three wheels, motors, and a battery. Other key elements are the inertial sensors, motor controllers, and a processor. It’s similar to the technology that stabilizes satellites in space. “Once complete, the Cubli will provide an inexpensive, open source test-bed with a relatively small footprint for research and education in estimation and control,” wrote Mohanarajah Gajamohan and the rest of the team.

The “walking” comes into play when the Cubli operator combines its abilities to jump onto an edge, balance, and controlled fall to the opposite plane. Repeat these movements, and the 15-centimeter-tall Cubli can roll across the floor unaided. “Algorithms for controlling pendulum systems are an active area of research today,” the developers said, acknowledging that their toy is not based on breakthrough technology.

But what is new about Cubli is its size. Most devices harness inertial forces are much bigger than Cubli’s tiny footprint. It takes its name from the German diminutive for cube. Additionally, the jumping capability without external influence is cutting edge. “Some researchers hope to use this method of locomotion for planetary exploration, while others are using for self-assembling robots,” the narrator in Cubli’s promotional video says. “But for us, it is just a cool little cube.”
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source: sevenfivenet

使い方を想像すると楽しい！無重力のように傾くキューブ
■触るとひとりでに姿勢を制御する魔法のキューブ
スイスはETH ZurichのデザインチームInstitute for Dynamic Systems and Controlが開発した、まるで無重力のように傾くキューブ「Cubli」
15 × 15 × 15 cmのハイテクキューブは宇宙機の姿勢制御に使われるリアクションホイールが3個内蔵されていて姿勢を制御、ひとりでに転がったりジャンプしたり、角で立ち上がったりする。
人目を惹くこのキューブの使い方を想像すると楽しいですよ。イベント会場のステージに置いても良いし、家のクリスマスツリーの下に置いても面白いですね。惑星探索や自分で合体するロボットのパーツに使われるかもしれません。夢が広がる！
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source: dailybestit

Questo “coso” si chiama Cubli ed è stato progettato e realizzato dal Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control, di Zurigo, in Svizzera. Che roba è? È un cubo che (semplificando) grazie ad un computer e tre rotelle al suo interno che girano velocemente sui tre assi è in grado di muoversi, ma questo coso è anche in grado, per esempio, di stare in equilibrio su uno spigolo e di resistere agli urti, contro bilanciando le spinte ricevute grazie ad un software che misura le forze e regola di conseguenza la rotazione dei tre rotori. A vederlo fa abbastanza impressione e sembra superare le leggi gravitazionali.
Padroneggiare l’equilibrio potrebbe essere una cosa molto utile per i robot che verrano (e non solo).
Guardate questo video, più sotto ci sono anche due gif animate che rendono subito l’idea.