Thread: Robotics and Balance: Fail.

Thaaaaaaaaank you for bringing that to my attention Ynot, that was remarkable! And that's exactly the sort of behavior I want to see these kinds of machines express. I remember a good few years ago I had seen the segment where this same robot was kicked in the side (and in the meantime had forgotten about it), which together with the way it slipped around on the icy ground made it look alive. I'm going to spend a bit of time poking around for more information on Big Dog, it's bloody inspiring.

@ DD: To convert that into mechanical sensors would be fantastic to use in conjunction with the robot's perceived 3D environment. I'm not sure what we'd use though for artificial semicircular canals. Perhaps we can use a ferro-fluid to fill makeshift hollow rings wrapped in wire, but I don't think the fluid would produce an outward magnetic field if it's taking the shape of a ring... It would act kind of like a magnet bent around and connected to itself, which wouldn't do much good. I'll have to think about it more.

Timothy Paradox, that Virginia Tech tripod is quite novel. It demonstrates a form of locomotion I've never seen before, although that wasn't what I was aiming for... I see how it represents bipedal movement though. I think, if a unit could be placed on top that would remain upright without having to be flipped above and beneath the hull of the robot, I could see more use for it. I'll think on that too.

And what do you think about using pneumatic artificial muscles for joint movement? I'm thinking this would be a nice option for very long legs, right next to hydraulics.

Just a side note,
but this is a perfect example of a real-time system

Front left leg gives way, balance is lost
There's a finite amount of time before the robot falls, possibly damaging it's cargo or itself
Corrective action must take place before this deadline
This deadline cannot be missed, even if that means an imperfect correction

Ugh...that robo dog is creepy...
Reminds me of the hunters in HL2 ep 2.

Ynot, is that essentially supposed to equate to reflexive reaction from a program? And is the program supposed "know" how long it will take until it hits the ground, or does it just attempt to correct it's position as fast as it can process the information?

Originally Posted by Timothy Paradox

Reminds me of the hunters in HL2 ep 2.

Righteous. I only just got around to finishing that about two days ago. The advisors were the stuff of nightmares.



And,
Does anyone else know if there are currently any robotics projects going on that are utilizing the three-legged concept?

Uh, just to clear things up, the Strider isn't just a robot >_>

It's a synth. It has organs and stuff...and a brain!

Also, for the actually topic, I have nothing to add...

Oh, I know slayer. I'd love to be able to add my own brain matter to one with an uplink that would allow me full control, but we are at the moment limited to conventional technologies.

Off topic, but, why is this in Ask/Tell? Honest question.

I was asking for advice with technical knowhow that might shed some light on what might be necessary for the construction of a machine that can balance on three legs. I know we have some members that are much more familiar with electrical/computer engineering concepts than I am, and their knowledge would help me out greatly. If you also check out the main questions I ask in the original post, it reflects that I'm looking for information that other people can offer me.