CUBLI
Main Collaborators: Michael Muhlebach, Gajamohan Mohanarajah, and Igor Thommen
The ‘Cubli’ (after the Swiss-German diminutive for ‘cube’) is a small cube with a side length of 15 cm (just below 6 inches) that can jump up and balance on its corner.
Momentum wheels mounted on three faces of the cube rotate at high angular velocities and then brake suddenly, causing the Cubli to jump up.
Once the Cubli has almost reached the corner stand up position, controlled motor torques are applied to make it balance on its corner.
In addition to balancing, the motor torques can also be used to achieve a controlled fall such that the Cubli can be commanded to fall in any arbitrary direction. Combining these three abilities – jumping up, balancing, and controlled falling – the Cubli should be able to ‘walk’.
