Drive on the ground, drive on the wall, maybe, just maybe, drive on the ceiling. The result of a collaboration between Disney Research Zurich and ETH Zurich, VertiGo is a four wheel vehicle that appears to defy gravity. How does it work?
Related robots: Exploring the surface of a comet or asteroid with Hedgehog, Testing a Space Rover Under Alaskan Ice, and a jumping Sand Flea robot.As Dr. Paul Beardsley of Disney Research explained, VertiGo has two propellers that are angled to push the robot against the wall and provide upward motion that counters gravity, similar to a quadcopter drone with four propellers that thrust upward.
The 22-inch robot consists of a central carbon-fiber baseplate, carbon rods that connect 3D-printed parts, and servomotors that control the thrusters individually. In the video above, the robot climbs from the ground to a wall, but researchers said that it could theoretically climb on the ceiling, too.
Updated video.
via Daily Dot.
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