Balancing inverted pendulums

[datico]

Fascinating video of a robot able to balance an inverted pendulum, starting from a hanging position.
http://hackaday.com/2010/11/27/balancin ... pendulums/

The part I love is how the robot puts additional energy into the pendulum to get it started, but then needs very little energy afterwards to keep it swinging, and of course even less to keep it balanced. Seems like some clue or principle is hiding in this demonstration.

[Bill_Mothershead]

different but the same...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HDDzKxN ... re=related

[Bill_Mothershead]

This one is fairly good too....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwJ2jzVe ... re=related

As to what these have to do with a Bessler wheel, and why this
thread is not over in "off topic"...I don't know.

[pequaide]

I think these experiments are absolutely on topic. How did Bessler transfer the motion (momentum) of the wheel to the pendulums? This of course assumes that he used pendulums, but wasn’t he a clockmaker.

These experiments prove that a right or left motion can amplify the motion of a pendulum. By releasing and locking pendulums at the correct time the internal pendulums in Bessler’s wheel may have been placed at higher energy levels.

If the wheel could transfer a portion of its momentum to a pendulum bob there would be a large energy increase. And then the overbalance of the locked bob at a higher energy state is used as an Atwood’s to more than return the lost momentum.

[Thomas]

This is absolutely amazing. Although this may or may not have anything to do with Bessler’s wheel, this technology looks like it would be very promising in regards to providing two legged robots with human like motion and balance. It’s undoubtedly already being worked on.

[Grimer]

I think these experiments are absolutely on topic. ...

I agree.

[iacob alex]

.....is simply the human body dynamics "prime line" (abstracts) , at :
http://forcesinyoga.com/PosturalSway/Te ... rol.html#2

We can see it as a compound (variable arm ) physical (inverted ) pendulum (on ground ) or as an interlaced (variable ) leverage system ( in water ).

This is why we can play a multitude of "dances with gravity"...and inertia.

Al_ex

[murilo]

Great thread!
Thank you, guys!