Technabob » seisaku-kun http://technabob.com/blog Cool Gadgets, Gizmos, Games and Geek Stuff Sun, 27 May 2012 20:00:08 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Unicycle Robot by Murata has Much Better Balance Than Me http://technabob.com/blog/2009/09/26/seiko-chan-unicycle-robot-murata/ http://technabob.com/blog/2009/09/26/seiko-chan-unicycle-robot-murata/#comments Sat, 26 Sep 2009 12:49:05 +0000 Technabob http://technabob.com/blog/?p=20468 This jolly little robot gets around not by walking or crawling, but by rolling along on a single unicycle wheel.

murata unicycle bot

Murata’s Seiko-chan (Murata Girl) self-balancing unicycle robot first came onto the scene back in 2008, but has recently been upgraded so it can tool along 3 times faster than the original. An ultrasonic sensor and camera help Seiko keep on the straight and narrow, avoiding obstacles along the way.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Seiko-chan can now turn on a 2-centimeter radius, and can even balance itself on a narrow balance beam (I’d love to see her make her way along a tightrope someday).

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

If you happen to be attending the CEATEC show in Japan from October 6th through 10th, you’ll be able to see Seiko-chan up close and personal. Other than getting bloggers like me to write about them, I can’t think of too many practical uses for a balancing unicycle ‘bot, can you?

[via Robonable via Plastic Pals]

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