On a novel wheeled robot with tumbler characteristics

Abstract

Tumbler is a kind of toy which is usually spherical with flat bottom and it can stand steadily. Tumbler has a special ability to automatically adjust its attitude when kicked or knocked. In this paper, we propose a design concept in wheeled robot to combine with tumbler characteristics. The authors realized this concept on a spherical household robot prototype. Other than using the sphere to run itself by moving inner small vehicles or changing position of inner pendulum, this spherical robot moves with two outside wheels, which are designed to be a part of its shell. Further, we carefully consider the weight distribution and set the center of mass of the sphere. We add tumbler characteristic to the robot. Concept and actual system design have been introduced in the paper.