Society of Robots - Robot Forum

General Misc => Robot Videos => Topic started by: Admin on August 16, 2007, 10:17:19 PM

Title: omni-directional treadmill
Post by: Admin on August 16, 2007, 10:17:19 PM
Before watching this movie, imagine first how to make a treadmill omni-directional. Just try.

Ok so its not a robot, but it does however involve a ton of robotics technology to make.

Now enjoy!

[youtube=425,350]msci440q18s[/youtube]
Title: Re: omni-directional treadmill
Post by: Tsukubadaisei on August 17, 2007, 02:12:26 AM
lol. The guy who created this toy is my teacher of "mechanisms for mechatronics" here in Tsukuba, his name is Hiroo Iwata.
Title: Re: omni-directional treadmill
Post by: S. Karim on August 17, 2007, 11:19:16 AM
I understand how it can detect direction to go...but how does it infinitely generate the walking path?

A treadmill works like a tanks tracks, it keeps rolling. Only thing I can think of is to spin the entire track on a turntable according to the accelerometers?
Title: Re: omni-directional treadmill
Post by: Brandon121233 on August 17, 2007, 04:26:13 PM
I could definitely see this being used in some kind of future startrek holideck...
Title: Re: omni-directional treadmill
Post by: HDL_CinC_Dragon on August 18, 2007, 11:22:31 PM
Can you say "Fully immersive First Person Shooter?"
Title: Re: omni-directional treadmill
Post by: ed1380 on August 19, 2007, 08:55:19 AM
Can you say "Fully immersive First Person Shooter?"
O dude can't believe I didn't think of that. (http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e398/RussianCommy/smilies/drool1.gif)
Title: Re: omni-directional treadmill
Post by: HDL_CinC_Dragon on August 19, 2007, 11:30:02 AM
Can you say "Fully immersive First Person Shooter?"
O dude can't believe I didn't think of that. (http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e398/RussianCommy/smilies/drool1.gif)


hahaha =)
Title: Re: omni-directional treadmill
Post by: snow on August 21, 2007, 06:05:58 AM
And hardcore gamers will become super athletes  :D
Title: Re: omni-directional treadmill
Post by: Nyx on August 21, 2007, 06:47:22 AM
I understand how it can detect direction to go...but how does it infinitely generate the walking path?

A treadmill works like a tanks tracks, it keeps rolling. Only thing I can think of is to spin the entire track on a turntable according to the accelerometers?

If you rotated the track, you'd have to rotate the person walking on it... Unless the person was suspended, but then the person could still notice.

In the video, you can see he basically has a threadmill that goes along two perpendicular axes. Don't know exactly how it's made, but I would venture a guess that either all the little bands are sort of like narrow individual threadmills, which themselves can be rotated around a larger threadmill along the other axis.
Title: Re: omni-directional treadmill
Post by: Fredrik Andersson on August 21, 2007, 08:48:32 AM
Like this?

(http://www.fiershold.se/omnidir.png)
Title: Re: omni-directional treadmill
Post by: Admin on August 21, 2007, 09:31:57 AM
hmmmm that looks feasible . . . but how do they keep the wiring from getting all tangled up?!
Title: Re: omni-directional treadmill
Post by: Fredrik Andersson on August 21, 2007, 11:25:42 AM
hmmmm that looks feasible . . . but how do they keep the wiring from getting all tangled up?!

Oh, yeah... never thought about that...

I guess they could be wired like in DC motors, with those metal sprips. And with the small threadmills, the belt looks plastic or bendable, so they may curve on the way to the bottom side so that a stand can be built around it enabling it to connect to the other smaller threadmills and make contact with the inner side of the large threadmill...
Title: Re: omni-directional treadmill
Post by: ed1380 on August 21, 2007, 02:43:42 PM
Like this?

(http://www.fiershold.se/omnidir.png)
IMO it's ike that, but the little individual, belts are on bearings, and underneath everything, there is a set of omni wheels, that rotate the belts through friction, and the little wheel, let it move right/left
Title: Re: omni-directional treadmill
Post by: Tsukubadaisei on August 21, 2007, 07:03:10 PM
Like this?

(http://www.fiershold.se/omnidir.png)

Exactly. Now you get a cookie. Here goes a link from the VR laboratoy at my university:
http://intron.kz.tsukuba.ac.jp/vrlab_web/torustreadmill/torustreadmill_e.html (http://intron.kz.tsukuba.ac.jp/vrlab_web/torustreadmill/torustreadmill_e.html)

The first picture is excatly like yours but with all the wiring and so on.

But there is something way better than this threadmill and it is called CirculaFloor. Here is the link.
http://intron.kz.tsukuba.ac.jp/vrlab_web/CirculaFloor/CirculaFloor_e.htm (http://intron.kz.tsukuba.ac.jp/vrlab_web/CirculaFloor/CirculaFloor_e.htm)
I still cant understand why darpa hasnt copied this one yet.
Title: Re: omni-directional treadmill
Post by: airman00 on September 04, 2007, 11:33:18 AM
The circulaFloor is really cool!. tiles move in orde rto make you a walking path. You have only like 4 tiles which move in front of you so you can walk for miles.....
Check Tsukubadaisei link.