The Walt Disney Company
Robot with inertia shifting assembly providing spin control during flight

Abstract:

A robot configured to provide accurate control over the rate of spin or rotation of the robot. To control the rate of spin, the robot includes an inertia shifting (or moving) assembly positioned within the robot's body so that the robot can land on a surface with a target orientation and "stick the landing" of a gymnastic maneuver. The inertia shifting assembly includes sensors that allow the distance from the landing surface (or height) to be determined and that allow other parameters useful in controlling the robot to be calculated such as present orientation. In one embodiment, the sensors include an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and a laser range finder, and a controller processes their outputs to estimate orientation and angular velocity. The controller selects the right point of the flight to operate a drive mechanism in the inertia shifting assembly to achieve a targeted orientation.