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Unread 02-06-2016, 22:23
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Zeromonkey Zeromonkey is offline
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AKA: Austin Kukay
FRC #2907 (Lion Robotics)
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Join Date: Dec 2012
Rookie Year: 2009
Location: Auburn, WA
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Question Physics of a Ballbot

Hi All!

I've been working on some ideas I had for a ballbot, a robot that uses a ball as its single wheel. The idea was to have it balance on top of the ball (thinking like a basketball or something) and to have the wheels/motors on the outside of the ball.

Currently, my design is to have 4 omniwheels to control the robot either at the midline or below the midline around the ball, and I have wanted to make it so it can move around (controlled by joystick or gamepad or whatever) and balance still.

I have been trying to figure out the physics behind this design though. I've talked to some instructors and looked around on the internet but haven't found any good explanations of the motion. The goal is to find out the amount of torque the motors will require to keep the robot on top of the ball.

I am assuming like I said, a basketball (9.5 inches in diameter), 4 inch Omni wheels, and a weight of the top of the robot (part moving around on the ball) to be 1lb.

Thanks for the help! I appreciate it! Let me know if any more information is needed!
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