1) "Look, mum, no rider!" A report about what seems to be the first
successfull unicycling robot, built by Zaiquan Sheng and Kazuo
Yamafuji. Based on older experiments with no satisfying results these
two Japanese researchers renewed the construction. Riding and
balancing techniques are closely modelled on the human original. The
robot looks like a unicycle with the rider's lower body fused to it.
Quite good repeatability is reported by Sheng and Yamafuji, the
documented results are impressive: The robot covered a distance of
about 10 metres, cable connections and space limitation being the main
reason that the robot couldn't ride a greater distance.
If you prefer to read the original article on which my report is
based, here is the reference: Sheng, Zaiquan; Yamafuji, Kazuo:
Realization of a Human Riding a Unicycle by a Robot (Proceedings of
the 1995 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation,
Vol. 2 (c1995) , pp 1319 - 1326). Another article which describes the
theoretical model and a computer simulation: Sheng, Zaiquan; Yamafuji,
Kazuo: Study on the Stability and Motion Control of a Unicycle. Part
I: Dynamics of Human riding unicycle and its modeling by link
mechanism (JSME International Journal, Series C Vol. 38, No. 2 (June
1995), pp 249 - 259))
Has anyone further information about unicycling robots?
(Besides of the frequent references in the robotic literature to
"unicycle-like vehicles". The term seems to have little to do with
what you and I think of when we hear the word "unicycle". Rather, it
describes theoretical models for simple and easy-to-manoeuvre robots
on wheels. These models don't have to worry about falling over, and in
practical experiments a robot with, say, three wheels that are driven
and steered in unison is regarded as being "uni-cycle".)
2) For the Bibliographic Notes, a regular columne in "Kaskade" I have
compiled a bibliography of physics of the circus arts. Besides others
there are three references to the physics of unicycling:
Wiley, Jack: Mechanics (Wiley, Jack: The Complete Book of Unicycling
(Lodi, California c1984) , pp 14 - 21)
Hoeher, Sebastian: Einradfahren und die Physik (Hvher, Sebastian:
Einradfahren (Reinbek bei Hamburg 1991), pp 155 - 162), English
translation in: Hoeher, Sebastian: Unicycling from Beginner to Expert
(Bath, UK)
Taguchi, K.; Kikukawa, M.; Sasaki, O.; Sakaguchi, M.; Kudo, K.:
Vestibular training with unicycle (Woollacott, M.; Horak, F. (Eds.):
Posture and gait : control mechanisms. International Symposium of the
Society for Postural and Gait Research (Portland c1992) , pp 433 -
436)
I didn't cover the physics of (bi)cycling because the literature is
too far removed from the artistic use of this equipment and too
extensive.
Does anyone know of other references?
wolfgang
-------------------
Wolfgang Schebeczek
Vienna, Austria
wsch@ping.at