Two-Wheel Robot Recovery Using Shiftable Convex Wheels
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Solution Overview
Problem
Two-wheeled robots often have a high center of gravity, making them prone to inversion and difficult to recover from lateral falls, as the flat side surfaces can become grounded, hindering posture restoration.
Innovation Solution
A mobile robot apparatus with convex side surfaces and a control system that moves the ground-engaging wheels between positions to adjust their central axes closer to the robot's center of gravity, using sensors and cameras to determine inversion and control wheel movement to restore posture, avoiding obstacles and inclined surfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the robot uses a high center of gravity for posture control, then it can maintain balance, but it becomes prone to inversion and difficult to recover from lateral falls
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the wheel positions adjustable rather than fixed. The wheels can be dynamically repositioned between a first position (farther from center of gravity) and a second position (closer to center of gravity) based on the robot's operational state. This dynamic adjustment allows the robot to optimize its stability characteristics and recover from inverted states by shifting the center of gravity relative to the wheel contact points.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the geometric parameter of the system by adjusting the horizontal distance between the wheel central axes and the center of gravity. By moving the wheels between two distinct positions, the system modifies its center of gravity location and moment of inertia, enabling transition from a high-center-of-gravity configuration (prone to inversion) to a low-center-of-gravity configuration (easier to recover).
2Speed
If the robot moves the ground-engaging wheel rapidly from the second position to the first position, then it can quickly restore posture, but it increases mechanical stress on the driving device
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs periodic action through oscillating or reciprocating wheel movement. When the robot is inverted, the ground-engaging wheel is moved rapidly from the second position to the first position to restore posture. The system may use periodic oscillations or repeated small adjustments rather than a single large mechanical shock, reducing stress on the driving device while achieving posture restoration through cumulative effect.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies beforehand cushioning by using controlled deceleration and damping mechanisms during wheel position changes. The driving device is designed to absorb and dissipate mechanical energy through compliant elements or controlled damping, preventing excessive stress concentrations during rapid position transitions while maintaining fast response for posture recovery.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables the mobile robot to effectively return to its original posture by shifting its center of gravity and using rapid wheel movement and rotational inertia to recover balance, even when inverted on flat or inclined surfaces, minimizing collision risks with obstacles.
Implementation Method 1
a sensor configured to sense an inclination of the main body, where the processor may be further configured to determine whether the mobile robot apparatus is inverted to one side based on a signal received from the sensor indicating the inclination of the main body
Implementation Method 2
control the second driving device to move a ground-engaging wheel from among the first wheel and the second wheel from the second position to the first position... control the second driving device to move the ground-engaging wheel from the second position to the first position more rapidly than when moving a wheel from the first position to the second position
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile robot apparatus includes a main body, a first wheel on a first side surface of the main body, a second wheel on a second side surface of the main body, where the first wheel and the second wheel include side surfaces having a convex shape, a first driving device configured to rotate the first wheel and the second wheel, a second driving device configured to move the first wheel and the second wheel to a first position or a second position, and a processor configured to, based on determining that the mobile robot apparatus is inverted to one side, control the second driving device to move a ground-engaging wheel from among the first wheel and the second wheel from the second position to the first position.