Murata Boy’s Cousin Does It On One Wheel
Writing by Evan Ackerman on Monday, 29 of September , 2008 at 12:39 am
Remember when we wrote about Murata Boy? Yeah, I remember too, but I can’t seem to find the post. Grr. On one entirely possible off-chance that I’m totally making up the fact that I ever wrote about the little guy, he’s a bicyclist bot:
Murata Boy has a gyro in his chest that keeps him upright while riding a bike, turning a bike, stopped dead on a bike, detecting obstacles on a bike, and crossing a balance beam on a bike.
Murata Boy’s gyro stabilizes him on one axis (the sideways one, or roll). The bicycle itself keeps a handle on pitch and yaw thanks to a front and back wheel and frictiony tires. Murata Girl (a “shy but lively” kindergartner) has two gyros to keep her stabilized in both roll and pitch, allowing her to ride a unicycle:
Murata Girl is controlled via Bluetooth, and also has the ability to avoid obstacles. I can’t tell whether she’s able to turn; I suppose it depends on how you turn a unicycle: do you roll, or do you yaw? All the pro unicyclists who read this blog (and I’m sure there’s a whole bevvy of you) can feel free to weigh in on that.
[ Murata (Translated) ] VIA [ Engadget ]
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