Tracking control of the gyrobot-a gyroscopically stabilized single-wheeled robot

The gyrobot is a gyroscopically stabilized, single-wheeled robot. A fast spinning flywheel mounted inside the frame provides lateral stability of the wheel-shaped robot. Steering of the robot is effectuated by tilting the flywheel with the help of a tilt motor, and forward/backward motion is implemented by another motor mounted on the heavy platform. This structure of robot shows excellent dynamic stability and is, therefore, suitable for navigation in unknown, rough terrain. From this point of view, the gyrobot has definite advantage over other types of wheeled robots. Moreover, the electronic components are placed inside the sealed shell of the wheel giving it an advantage in operations where navigation in wet surfaces is required, for example inspection of sewerage lines or chemical spills. In this paper, we report the design and fabrication of the gyrobot and present the results of path following navigating algorithm designed for this robot. A linear feedback controller is adopted at this stage to control the tilt and forward/backward motion of the robot.