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On Tue, December 6, 2005 10:29 am, Jordan Bradford wrote:
> I saw this linked on Slashdot:
>
> <http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/12/prweb316686.htm>
>
> Allow me to cut through the inventor's verbosity and translate the concept:
>
> The square wheels are mechanically linked and turn in unison, but they're offset
> from each other. The weight at the top of the vehicle forces one of the squre
> wheels to stay flat on the ground. As the weight rotates to a new square, that
> square has to turn to become flat, which makes all the others turn.
>
> I think I'll try building one of these, if I can get the offset angle to work.
> It's 1/4 of 90 degrees, according to the article.
>
> The way this vehicle is set up, it only moves in a straight line. How might one
> steer it? Shifting the center of gravity? Disconnecting one of the wheels from
> the others temporarily?
I think one way to steer it is to split the robot in half, and twist in the middle.
However, that will make it hard to keep the front and back wheels in sync.
Steve
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In lugnet.technic, Steve Hassenplug wrote:
> On Tue, December 6, 2005 10:29 am, Jordan Bradford wrote:
> > I saw this linked on Slashdot:
> >
> > <http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/12/prweb316686.htm>
> >
> > Allow me to cut through the inventor's verbosity and translate the concept:
> >
> > The square wheels are mechanically linked and turn in unison, but they're offset
> > from each other. The weight at the top of the vehicle forces one of the squre
> > wheels to stay flat on the ground. As the weight rotates to a new square, that
> > square has to turn to become flat, which makes all the others turn.
> >
> > I think I'll try building one of these, if I can get the offset angle to work.
> > It's 1/4 of 90 degrees, according to the article.
> >
> > The way this vehicle is set up, it only moves in a straight line. How might one
> > steer it? Shifting the center of gravity? Disconnecting one of the wheels from
> > the others temporarily?
>
> I think one way to steer it is to split the robot in half, and twist in the middle.
> However, that will make it hard to keep the front and back wheels in sync.
>
> Steve
Right, Steve - keeping the wheels in sync may be the problem. You're onto
something with the split in the chassis, though, and I thought of a
three-wheeled version, where the front single wheel can pivot, like on a
tricycle.
I found this article on the subject too:
http://www.maa.org/mathland/mathtrek_04_05_04.html
Ed
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In lugnet.technic, Ed McGlynn wrote:
> In lugnet.technic, Steve Hassenplug wrote:
> > On Tue, December 6, 2005 10:29 am, Jordan Bradford wrote:
> > > I saw this linked on Slashdot:
> > >
> > > <http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/12/prweb316686.htm>
> > >
> > > Allow me to cut through the inventor's verbosity and translate the concept:
> > >
> > > The square wheels are mechanically linked and turn in unison, but they're offset
> > > from each other. The weight at the top of the vehicle forces one of the squre
> > > wheels to stay flat on the ground. As the weight rotates to a new square, that
> > > square has to turn to become flat, which makes all the others turn.
> > >
> > > I think I'll try building one of these, if I can get the offset angle to work.
> > > It's 1/4 of 90 degrees, according to the article.
> > >
> > > The way this vehicle is set up, it only moves in a straight line. How might one
> > > steer it? Shifting the center of gravity? Disconnecting one of the wheels from
> > > the others temporarily?
> >
> > I think one way to steer it is to split the robot in half, and twist in the middle.
> > However, that will make it hard to keep the front and back wheels in sync.
> >
> > Steve
>
> Right, Steve - keeping the wheels in sync may be the problem. You're onto
> something with the split in the chassis, though, and I thought of a
> three-wheeled version, where the front single wheel can pivot, like on a
> tricycle.
>
> I found this article on the subject too:
> http://www.maa.org/mathland/mathtrek_04_05_04.html
>
> Ed
Slashdot had a link to an article about that vehicle, too, but it requires a
specially-shaped surface to work. The one with the rotating weight works on a
flat surface.
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