FORT COLLINS - A spherical robot that climbs stairs has won a Colorado State University mechanical engineering graduate student recognition as one of the "10 Most Brilliant Innovators of 2009" by Popular Mechanics magazine.
Greg Schroll also received the publication’s Next Generation Breakthrough Award for his machine that could one day explore extraterrestrial landscapes.
Schroll used whatever he found sitting around to construct his prototype. The top globe to a gumball machine makes up the robot’s polycarbonate outer shell while the red rubber tracking that helps the robot glide came from a rubber playground ball. Inside, remote-control car and helicopter parts comprise the distinctive machine.
The robot’s exclusive ability to easily navigate inclines and roam rough terrain is possible because of a set of gyroscopes that store momentum within the sphere. The prototype demonstrates the concept that accumulating momentum and releasing it on command can propel an object, even up a set of steep stairs.
The robot is enclosed within a rugged and resilient uniform shell leaving no obvious points of weakness. Its spherical shape prevents it from ever being turned upside down which would allow potential drivers to maneuver the robot in a variety of environments without becoming incapacitated. The robot also has the ability to be sealed for amphibious work.
Eric Layton / 4 Dec 2009
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