Rosey
August 13, 2006 Posted by Al Castle
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Categories: Science, Segway
Slap on an outer shell for this thing from Carnegie Mellon and it could pass for the housemaid Rosey from the Jetsons cartoon. Although, it looks like Rosey may have had multiple wheels, never the less this is a pretty cool implementation of alternative robotic mobility.
The gist being that their robot balances and moves by using a single ball, sorta like a ball point pen. They claim this allows the robot to take up less space and allow for greater freedom of movement and speed. The release states, “Because it is omnidirectional, it can move easily in any direction without having to turn first.” Apparently it still has three legs which it uses to stay upright when it’s not actually in motion.
For me I’d like to have a robot that has the option to go on legs for rugged terrain and on a wheel or wheels for speed and elegance. Of course while I’m wishing for magickal ponies, my bot would have it’s own AI and double as my mech suit.
Another balancing robotic system, this one using two wheels has been out for quite awhile from the good folks at Segway, which have the Robotic Mobility Platform. It has to turn first, but is also probably ready to go for commercial applications. Ooow. Looks like Segway has some other items I haven’t spotted before here.
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Some of Segway’s new products are downright scary. Here’s a quote for you:
“The Segway RMP 50 is a low-cost, statically stable platform for use on flat surfaces and at slower speeds. It’s great for lower power applications such as use in teaching labs or for indoor surveillance.”
One, if I ever had a teacher who navigated my classroom on one of those little things, I’d quit that school. And two, indoor surveillance? That’s just freaky!