The Wheelbot: A Jumping Reaction Wheel Unicycle
A. Ren\'e Geist, Jonathan Fiene, Naomi Tashiro, Zheng Jia, and, Sebastian Trimpe

TL;DR
The Wheelbot is a DIY reaction wheel unicycle capable of jumping onto its wheels from any position, serving as a challenging platform for advanced control research due to its complex dynamics.
Contribution
This paper introduces the design, control algorithms, and experimental validation of the novel Wheelbot unicycle, combining off-the-shelf parts and 3D printing for a versatile research platform.
Findings
Successfully demonstrated self-erection from arbitrary positions.
Achieved disturbance rejection while balancing.
Validated control algorithms through experiments.
Abstract
Combining off-the-shelf components with 3D-printing, the Wheelbot is a symmetric reaction wheel unicycle that can jump onto its wheels from any initial position. With non-holonomic and under-actuated dynamics, as well as two coupled unstable degrees of freedom, the Wheelbot provides a challenging platform for nonlinear and data-driven control research. This paper presents the Wheelbot's mechanical and electrical design, its estimation and control algorithms, as well as experiments demonstrating both self-erection and disturbance rejection while balancing.
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Taxonomy
TopicsNeuroscience and Neural Engineering · Force Microscopy Techniques and Applications · Mechanical and Optical Resonators
