5 ms·

'Hedgehog' Robots Hop, Tumble in Microgravity

56 points by herendin 11y ago

hedgehog 11y ago
Very clever. Besides the name (which is clearly well chosen) the idea of putting the moving parts on the inside where they can be sealed and protected from dust, evaporation of lubricants, etc seems like a really good idea.
- monk_e_boy 11y ago
  I wonder how much energy rotating a flywheel to move compares to something like a snake or fish? I'd've thought wiggling around would be less energetic... but maybe a cube covered with solar panels would work better.
  - masklinn 11y ago
    Maybe ask the Cubli[0] people? Gajamohan Mohanarajah was apparently active on youtube and G+ in the past, and Raffaello D'Andrea has a contact form on his website. [0] http://raffaello.name/projects/cubli/ http://raffaello.name/projects/cubli/
  - Asbostos 11y ago
    Part of it could be regenerated, though these ones are using mechanical brakes. Though, is energy use really a serious limitation in a lander/rover? These things hang around for months or more, so they can recharge from the sun just by waiting a bit.
    - ori_b 11y ago
      The longer they wait, the more dust settles, and the less energy they produce.
kirk21 11y ago
Swarmbots (eg multiple robots that act as a swarm) are really cool https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJOubyiITsE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJOubyiITsE
lucio 11y ago
A nice video on the cubli: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_6p-1J551Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_6p-1J551Y
tacon 11y ago
Who knew it was so easy to hack the duplicate algorithm on Hacker News? Just toss in any query parameter, such as "&again" to a previously submitted link. Brings new life to something that was previously submitted less than a day ago. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10178641 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10178641
atldev 11y ago
For some entertaining sci-fi applications of this sort of tech, you should check out Seveneves by Neal Stephenson.
nkrisc 11y ago
While not a perfect simulation, anyone who's played Kerbal Space Program has probably learned the benefits of this method of locomotion.
rgreid 11y ago
Feel free to ask us questions, we are interested in thoughts/feedback from the community! The video that goes with the original article is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDmoqjNQAu8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDmoqjNQAu8 (full disclosure: I work on this project)

56 points by herendin 11y ago

Very clever. Besides the name (which is clearly well chosen) the idea of putting the moving parts on the inside where they can be sealed and protected from dust, evaporation of lubricants, etc seems like a really good idea.

monk_e_boy 11y ago
I wonder how much energy rotating a flywheel to move compares to something like a snake or fish? I'd've thought wiggling around would be less energetic... but maybe a cube covered with solar panels would work better.
- masklinn 11y ago
  Maybe ask the Cubli[0] people? Gajamohan Mohanarajah was apparently active on youtube and G+ in the past, and Raffaello D'Andrea has a contact form on his website. [0] http://raffaello.name/projects/cubli/ http://raffaello.name/projects/cubli/
- Asbostos 11y ago
  Part of it could be regenerated, though these ones are using mechanical brakes. Though, is energy use really a serious limitation in a lander/rover? These things hang around for months or more, so they can recharge from the sun just by waiting a bit.
  - ori_b 11y ago
    The longer they wait, the more dust settles, and the less energy they produce.

kirk21 11y ago

Swarmbots (eg multiple robots that act as a swarm) are really cool https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJOubyiITsE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJOubyiITsE

lucio 11y ago

A nice video on the cubli: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_6p-1J551Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_6p-1J551Y

tacon 11y ago

Who knew it was so easy to hack the duplicate algorithm on Hacker News? Just toss in any query parameter, such as "&again" to a previously submitted link. Brings new life to something that was previously submitted less than a day ago. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10178641 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10178641

atldev 11y ago

For some entertaining sci-fi applications of this sort of tech, you should check out Seveneves by Neal Stephenson.

nkrisc 11y ago

While not a perfect simulation, anyone who's played Kerbal Space Program has probably learned the benefits of this method of locomotion.

rgreid 11y ago

Feel free to ask us questions, we are interested in thoughts/feedback from the community! The video that goes with the original article is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDmoqjNQAu8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDmoqjNQAu8 (full disclosure: I work on this project)