Tilted_Omni-Wheel_robot_from_TV.JPG (91534Bytes)
Tilted_Omni-Wheel_with_smaller_inner_wheel.JPG (45605Bytes)
There is an omni-wheeled robot I very vaguely recall seeing on TV many years ago. I cannot recall the show confidently, but suspect it may have been one of the background robots in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. I would have seen it on TVperhaps in the 80's.
The only thing I fairly confident of, is that its 3 omni wheels were tilted inward. It seemed to have an advantage of a larger tripod type wheel base, with fairly large wheels. Though, I can't dismiss the possibilty that I was so impressed with my first view of an omni-wheel robot, that my memory of its actual configuration was not correct. This configuration, with the tilted wheels, is something I have never seen anywhere else.
Anyway, The advent of the 3D printers may make it possible for a hobbiest to re-create something like it.
I have attached a very rough model, that may spur someone's memory. It was very roughly around 5ft tall, but I am not confident at all if it had a spherical head.
Any ideas what show or movie this may have come from.
-Joe
Topo?
The only bot I can tink of is Topo. It was a home robot made in the 80’s and in many magazines (Compute!, Byte, etc…) It had two wheels that tilted inwards and kind of looked like DnD dice stacked on top of each other. It may have been on a tv show or two as well.
Thanks for posting about
Thanks for posting about Topo. Although, I am certain it was not Topo itself that I saw, I now realize the possiblity that the robot I am recalling may have been configured simularly. Though, I am still perhaps 75% confident it was with a holonomic drive.
For others, here is a video from a broadcast that included Topo, among others…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=s1_Lg1mBPq0#t=117
For my design of the holonomic tilted-wheel robot, I relized that I was not properly using the type of omni-wheel. Each of the omni-wheels need to be a pair. But, to keep each of them on the ground, I shrunk the inner of the pair, and it looks quite viable. I put a little more work into my CAD file, and attached is the result.
For some reason, the new comment window does not permit attachments. I will try to see if I can add the new image to the 1st message by editing that message… I was able to add the new image to the 1st message. Here it is, as an embedded image.
-Joe
**Check the mug shots **
I found a collection of suspects at http://www.theoldrobots.com/personal.html
Thanks for the link to that
Thanks for the link to that web site with all those robots. That web site didn’t specificaly have a category for TV/Movie robots. Though, it did have some of them there. However, I did not see the one I had in my memory.
Also, the link you provided also makes mention of another great resource for historical robots. http://cyberneticzoo.com
I did find another robot, that I think deserves to be re-created. The Odex1. It is a very large walking robot, with 6 legs arranged around a central column, and it had a sphere for a head (at least in some itenerations). However, I read in an interview that the robot was a significant challenge mechanically, and the physics of that will not have changed. But, the weight of electronics/cameras/battery are certainly lighter. Also, motors have become lighter weight, with more power since that robot was built. So, it may be vaible to re-do it. Though, it may be better to make it smaller than the original.
-Joe
