We’ve all seen moving robots with wheels, rotors, and legs such as Big Dog, quad-copters, and many more. The new Cubli robot, like the before mentioned, can move, but unlike them, is a cube.
That’s right. Developed by researchers at the Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, this robot has three wheels inside the cube, a three-axis accelrometer, and a three-axis gyroscope.
By taking advantage of angular momentum and torque reaction, the 5.9 cu.in. cube can jump from a stable position, then stop and balance itself on one of its edges or even one of its corners. It can keep balancing even if you push or disturb the surface that it’s on. It can also be commanded to fall in a particular direction. By performing all three actions successively – jumping up, balancing and falling – the Cubli can be made to move around.
It cannot speak though. At least not yet.
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