Postural Stability and Motion Control of a Unicycle. 2nd Report. Design of Unicycle Robot and Experimental Results.

摘要

In the previous paper, in order to emulate a human riding a unicycle by a robot, a new model with two closed-link mechanisms and a controlling rotor (turntable) was proposed. By analyzing that model, we showed through simulation that both longitudinal and lateral stability of a human riding a unicycle can be satisfactorily emulated. In this study, we designed and manufactured a unicycle robot based on an idea proposed in the previous paper. Using the new method for detecting the posture of the robot in three dimensions, we conducted experiments on this robot under the proposed control method. The robot's posture was stabilized successfully in both longitudinal and lateral directions in three dimensions, and driving control was realized. The experimental results tell us that the proposed model and control method are effective in emulating the human riding a unicycle system by a robot. We believe that this is the first completely successful study in emulating a human riding a unicycle by a robot.