Miniature "balancing" robot is sad, hilarious
By Paul Miller 
posted Aug 16th 2008 10:50PM
posted Aug 16th 2008 10:50PM
[Via technabob]
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aww.. poor robot :(
It looks like its having a seizure.
the first Metal Gear
Can there be anything cuter and more pathetic? Only drowning puppies... and it would have to be a lot of them
But I already knew how to make a robot that wouldn't work. I don't need plans to make one.
I think the problem is that it can't vary the motor speed and spazes out. If it worked better I'd want to build my own.
You'll be laughing once it saves humanity in the future.
SEGW-A
Such Big Fail for such a Tiny Bot.
So exiting!
NOT
Actually, it DOES exit a few times, considering that it's constantly moving...
lol!
exciting is the word I think your looking for.
and "you're" is the word you are looking for.
That was very oddly adorable. I can't wait for the robot uprising now!
i feel bad for it for some reason...
The fact that it just keeps on trying over and over, despite failure, makes it both inspiring and saddening at the same time. The little segway that could.
"Singular purpose is to not fall d. . . Damnit. Must stay uprigh. . . Crap. Balance is importan. . . Damn. Failure is not an optio. . . Sh*t. Just turn me off. Please."
lol
There's a tiny voice coming from it saying "Please kill me!"
You won't feel pity toward it when it becomes HUMPBOT RAPER OF WORLDS
Oh my God, I almost spit my soda out when I read that.
LOL!
well,
you win the internet today.
Comment of the Month.
Nice rims.
Aww, it's just a little baby
awwww, cute, makes me feel sorry for it.
If changed Batteries to a lighter type, then it wouldn't be challenging.
Personally I liked it
too bad it would fail the crash test in germany
That's actually incorrect. Heavier batteries would make it easier for the robot to control itself. Lighter batteries or even a lower center of gravity would require even a faster response time from the motors.
I did this in high school with the LEGO Mindstorms RCX brick and some IR sensors. Was fun burning out a dozen or so motors over the course of a semester.
I still can't believe I actually got graded for playing with LEGOs.
WTF!!!!
Anyway, what I had written was, "Why did the builder put the heavy batteries so high up?"
?
Ha. it haz seizures. poor thing.
it strangely reminds me of my dog, humping something.
Aww, poor little guy. I guess I would feel worse if he had a soul though. Or a gender for that matter, dunno why I'm calling it a "he".
BTW, the music is from the Half-Life 2 OST (the only video game music I've actually placed in my iTunes library). One of my favorite tracks.
Dude, which track is it. The Russians have it but there's like 43 tracks.
http://musicmp3.ru/ssn.html?al=6235
Track is "triage at dawn" (number 17).
That OST kick ass, as the other VALVe games', and the Fallout ones.
Cute robot, It's simple and funny.
that thing makes me sad :( poor robot
Why is sad Half-Life music playing? :(
I think you just failed worse then this robot does.
neato and failo poor little bugger fallin on its face. you people are all nuts. ^__^
What the hell... Did you seriously not write that or did you mean to post that on another article? Would be trippy if it put someone else's post under your name.
The balance problem could be solved if the designer added a third wheel.
That would just throw away the projects proposal, becoming just an ugly tripod...
@zaphod:
joke
So there is a misconception that needs to be addressed:
Simple physics shows that the higher up the center of gravity, the easier it is to balance. The batteries are up high so that the bot can balance at all, otherwise it would just fall over all the time (the distance actually changes how fast a response time is needed to keep the bot balancing) Try balancing a long broom and then a pencil. If you can balance the pencil you're a super hero...or something.
In short: Batteries high = Good.
-A
Do us all a favor:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics
I've always said that bobo dolls are products of black magic.
@ryan: Wow that was a concise explanation of why he was wrong. Oh wait. It wasn't. I'm not a physicist, but I tend to agree with his point. If you want to sway my opinion, you're going to have to work a little harder than that.
@ryan
He is definitely right. It's called moment of inertia. An object with a higher moment of inertia will respond more slowly to a given moment than one with a smaller moment of inertia. So, if you had lighter batteries or moved them closer, the moment of inertia would be less and it would tip over faster, probably too fast to balance.
@ryan: Have you ever taken a physics course? If so, you must have failed cause arthur is 100% right, I actually came to comment the exact same thing he did.
"Try balancing a long broom and then a pencil."
@ Arthur
Precisely. What the builder needs to do is to leave it with heavy batteries, but raise them a little higher.
@ ryan
An even better way to explain this (so you don't try and give us 'but a broom and a pencil are two different things' nonsense) is to take a broom and balance it on your hand with the head facing upwards. Easy, no? It's top heavy, just like this robot.
Now try turning the broom around so that the head is on your hand and the stick is facing upwards. Point proven.
I seriously grabbed a pencil and a broom. Physics experiment at a moment's notice!
Okay so here's the explanation, a higher moment of inertia decreases the necessary response time, but "Simple physics shows that the higher up the center of gravity, the easier it is to balance" is the exact opposite of the truth. Why do you think tight rope walkers carry those large sticks? It's because they lower their center of gravity. Or think about those little balancing birds (like this http://bobscrafts.com/bobstuff/balance.htm) where you can balance it on its beak without any effort whatsoever. This is because it has a low center of gravity (the wings lower it significantly). If it had a higher center of gravity, do you think it would be easier to balance?
The only problem with giving it a higher centre of gravity is that you then end up with a smaller angle at which it can be out before the motors cant move fast enough to get it upright. So bassically it stands upright more easily. But once it tilts, you have to get it back upright quicker. But yes its easier to do it this way.
um, the simplest way i can explain this is to use torque, a pretty simple concept if you have a definitive pivot point.
Torque = (distance from pivot point) x (force applied)
if there is more mass towards the top of the object, it will require more force to torque the object and make it fall over since everyone knows F=ma. if there is less mass towards the top, it will require less force to torque the object and therefore will make it easier for an object to fall over.
I think it is one hell of a good try and better then what half of you ***holes could do :)
Aww pore site got slashdotted :(
And now, let's see what would happen if this same robot fell into a school of bunnies, set it on fire--and the sole human survivor went home to mercilessly beat his wife.
what?
HAHAHAHAHA @ Family guy Ref...
Family Guy.
I think it can be more stable if the creator add a balancing cross beam like those that used in the tight-rope stunts.
Weebls wobble but they dont win the gold medal for Olympic Gymnastics.
;D
Umm yeah!
Strangely erotic....
i like where this is going
is there a way to turn this thing into a toy of ... pleasure?
does it play doom?
no
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XD
Looks like we broke the site, guyz. >:
Good Job Engadget, you broke their website. I hope you feel good about yourself.
Mirrors anyone ? :(
This guy should have made a better robot than this! Come on it's hasn't got any face with a cam for it's eyes lolz!
It would work better with bigger wheels.
geez guys! youre all so damn mean!
come on now! youre hurting his little feelings!
apologize to him now and tell him that he's special just the way he is!
wow that is actually really cool
I think its pretty good, considering the scale and minimal parts
Yo, physics people, this isn't that hard:
Brick sitting on ground: stable
Brick balancing on end of long stick: not stable
Didn't need no fancy "moment of inertia" to figure that one out!
Might just be no simple enough for you to understand.... A brick on a table is inert. There is no balancing invole. try to balance that brick with a 3 inch stick in your hand, impossible. But with a long stick, very easy. That is why every rocket have a heavier nose than tail, better control. The robot wheel are just like the rudder at the button of a rocket, they move the center of gravity of the weight.
This looks a bit smarter. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ9MW63pvo0 It's been designed and built by a former student at my university :D (Politehnica University Bucharest, Romania).
Wow, that was weird, scary, cool AND erotic!
Thanks for sharing. :-D
I, for one, welcome our polo-playing robotic overlords.
I think this is fantastic! It would also be quite a useful demonstration in the 'dynamics' lectures of an engineering course - input, output, feedback, etc.
I'm surprised that no-one has welcomed our new, balancing robot overlords...
lol we killed the creators site's bandwith ahaha
"fails spectacularly"
I'm not seeing this spectacularity..
For a real balancing feat check out Murata Boy, the bicycling robot.
http://www.robotliving.com/2007/08/02/bicycle-robot/
That's nice and all, but it requires a lot more power than 4 AAs can provide.
Oh, the web site has exceeded its bandwidth. Engadget readers strike again!
and I, for one, welcome our miniature bad at balancing robot overlords.
Did you read the article? Or even the title.
thats how i look coming out of the pub on Saturday nights. that thing managed to stay up longer though.
oh sure... when a robot makes a noise like this, it's cute and funny...
when a human does it, he gets thrown out of the computer lab...
Hmmm are you a Linux user 'Bender Bending Rodriguez'? Got bitten by the old copy and paste disaster, right click paste instead of ctrl+V.
"Anyway, what I had written was, "Why did the builder put the heavy batteries so high up?""
How in the heck did that short intended comment transmorgify into a treatise on the Macbook Air processor? Did you have a Ctrl-A-Ctrl-V-Tab-Enter seizure ?
If this guy makes a segway I think it would make me puke.
Needs a little dog costume...
if this is done without a micro (i cant see 1 and the details on construction have run out of there data cap) it is very impressive
Highly secretive South American video of a baby Segue being tortured at only 3 weeks old.