Okiagari-Koboshi type of hopping and moving robot

A new type of small hopping and moving robot which is called okiagari-koboshi is developed and a method for hopping and moving control of the robot is proposed. The body of robot is a somewhat thin elliptic cylinder so it moves only on one or the other side. The robot stands straight with no help and recovers itself quickly to an original stable position by righting moment even if arbitrary impulsive force happens. In this sense the proposed robot is self-stable, or statically stable. The stability is accomplished by the center of gravity existing in a suitable place of the bottom. The small electromagnetic cylinder is used as an actuator for hopping and moving, which generates a thrust. A stepping motor is adopted as an actuator to control the attitude. The stability analysis is done and the equation of motion is derived. It is demonstrated by experiments that the proposed method is effective.