The best thing since omniwheels

[Mercutio]

Whegs! (http://biorobots.cwru.edu/projects/whegs/miniwhegs.html) They've got wheels... with legs! You can watch a great intro video here (http://biorobots.cwru.edu/Projects/whegs/ICRAminiwhegs_web.mpg) -- 35 megs might take some people a while to download, but it's worth every minute. Here are some shorter clips you should like:

They run (http://biorobots.cwru.edu/Projects/whegs/mini-whegs2attackscameracut.avi)!
They climb! (http://biorobots.cwru.edu/Projects/whegs/miniwhegsincline.m1v)
They jump (http://biorobots.cwru.edu/Projects/whegs/jumpingminiwhegs.mov)!
They fly (http://biorobots.cwru.edu/Projects/whegs/flyingwhegsweb.mov)!
Sometimes they don't fly (http://biorobots.cwru.edu/Projects/whegs/crashingwhegsweb.mov)! :p

Now before someone (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=23801) removes my post, let me stress that this is relevant to FIRST. As Dean said at the kickoff, "stair climbing is hard." Whegs can "surmount obstacles significantly greater than the radius of the whegs - a difficult feat for wheeled vehicles." Natural connections present themselves...

If you actually put whegs on your bot, please post photos! Video would be even cooler. I love the way these things move! :D

(Paul McCartney cuts in: "Something in the way she moves... attracts me like no other lover... Something in the way she mo-o-o-oves me...")

~Aaron

[Ragin_Kage]

Ive never seen anything like that before,...except on insects...that really wants me to put some whegs on a robot, and i think it actually can, and might be done, hey why not, looks good, thanks for finding that

[KenWittlief]

very cool! when I was a kid (back in the last millinium) I had a toy call the space crawler - it was part of a play set for an astronaut toy called Matt Mason

search on ebay for Matt Mason Space Crawler - they are collectors items now

here is one (it might not be there for long :c)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3169164584&category=348

give you any ideas?

[Joe Ross]

Those remind me of wheels I saw on several robots in 1999. However, I can't find any pictures at the moment. Perhaps this spark someone who does have access to pictures.

[KenWittlief]

there was one in '99 at Philly that looked like it had 50 welding rods on each side for 'wheels'

scariest bot Ive ever seen at a FIRST event

[kevin.li.rit]

Anyone see these robotics dancers yet?

http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2003/1218/sony_06.wmv

[miketwalker]

Anyone see these robotics dancers yet?

http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2003/1218/sony_06.wmv

Yes, Sony is very impressive. It's amazing how things such as the "legs" system that started this thread can evolve into creatures like the Sony robots. Amazing, absolutly amazing... we are definitly in a very interesting technology revolution, especially when it comes to robotics.

[c-squared_2006]

wow, that was cool, not to mention cute. Hmmmm...

[Kiwi_queen]

oh the possibilities...<evil grin>hee hee hee!

[Matt Adams]

I'll admit these are really cool, but I would say that that Whegs aren't really practical on FIRST robots. If you look at the mass of whegs relative to the overall mass of the robot, the mass of the motors powering the whegs relative to the mass of the robot, and the strength of the whegs relative to the mass of the robot.. each one of those is several times higher than anything you'd ever see on a FIRST robot.

I would imagine that there must be a better way for FIRST robots to get up a couple of 6" bumps...

Admittedly really cool, but I'd say their practical uses in FIRST robotics and this game is very narrow. :(

Very interesting though. A fun post!

Matt

[Pat Roche]

very cool! when I was a kid (back in the last millinium) I had a toy call the space crawler - it was part of a play set for an astronaut toy called Matt Mason

search on ebay for Matt Mason Space Crawler - they are collectors items now

here is one (it might not be there for long :c)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3169164584&category=348

give you any ideas?


Wow, my FIRST Advisor came up with that idea too....same story and all....

-Pat

[EddieMcD]

There was also a robot in 2001 that utilized something similar to get over the 4x4 running across the center of the field. And I wouldn't be suprised if we saw at least 1 bot this year utilize something like the whegs. Actually, statistically, it's quite likely at least one team will try to utilize it.

[matt111]

i was thinking of making a miniwheg of my own. any ideas or suggestions (ie. where to find parts)?

[Max Lobovsky]

i was thinking of making a miniwheg of my own. any ideas or suggestions (ie. where to find parts)?

I'd imagine you could probably make it soley from a cheap rc car. Just essentially replace the wheels. Now that i have said that, I'm almost sure im going to build that first thing after FIRST is over. Maybe I can get the FIRST team to pay for it... Research...