h a l f b a k e r yBite me.
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Défteros means second in Greek for those, like me, who didn't know that until just a few seconds ago.
Power sources might shrink enough in size and weight in the future to make an elderly exoskeleton feasible, but for now it might be far simpler to build a secondary counter balance system.
Okay,
visualization time because sketch time is something I don't have right now.
[Steve de Groof] before he left us posted an awesome idea for a 360 tank tread.
Picture a deflated basketball partially refilled with lubricant so that it is bowl shaped.
Within this bowl/tread is a multi directional drive train in a hemispherical shape which has two opposed flywheels which keep a central pole vertical at all times.
Bluetooth allows it to follow a person at a specific distance even up sets of stairs.
The pole contains a central rod on a pivot and this rod is heaviest towards its base.
The upper portion of the central rod is beyond a pivot point and connects to the body harness of the individual it is following.
Should that person slip their own weight will cause the rod to pivot, gradually catching them, while the gyros keep the pole from toppling over.
[link]
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You might want 2, separated laterally. Otherwise, a sideways
fall will be too difficult to counteract. |
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If so I disagree. the upright pole will be able to pivot in any direction laterally without any gyroscopic precession. This means that the individual falling would act like a wind-sock always spinning the counter balance to oppose not only their direction of fall but also the angular momentum of the fall as well because the counter balance will be counter rotating as well as extending.
The opposed flywheels near the base will be affected by precession and will fight to keep the pole vertical which will gently catch a fall and never allow a person to face-plant.
It would also make it much easier for the individual to stand back up afterwards. |
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I'm imagining that the deflated basketball is the only point of
contact with the ground. Is it the same size as an ordinary
deflated basketball, or larger, but with a similar texture? And
what sort of size are the flywheels? |
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I'm picturing, as a challenging test case, this device trying to
follow its human up a narrow, winding staircase. |
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Bigger than a basketball I just needed that for the visual. |
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Whatever... I don't have the word, allows the lip of the bowl to be higher than the standard height of a stair tread. I think that is seven inches here. |
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Since there is little that is easier than falling over backward, a
stiff stick to the back of the head occasionally is all most
people need. This here contrivance could easily handle some
automated swatting. |
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You lost me at //multi directional drive train in a hemispherical shape// |
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Would the attachment point on the body need to be above the
center of mass? |
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//You lost me at// ////multi directional drive train in a hemispherical shape//// |
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Ah yes I sort of left that bit to the imagination didn't I?
Picture the bottom of a salad bowl covered with bearings. Some of these bearings are casters on swivels which can be made to pivot and drive in the same direction.
Spin the casters to desired orientation engage the wheels on the casters, ...and the basketball acts in opposition while the whole shebang goes trucking in whichever direction you've indicated the opposite of. |
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//Would the attachment point on the body need to be above the center of mass?// |
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I'm not sure I understand. Do you mean the attachment point on the body of the person?
If so then yes. Body harness inplies not dragging somebody up by their ankles. If you meant body of the machine then the counter balance swing-arm will react in direct proportion to weight applied to it while the dual gyro mechanism will fight to keep the pole vertical and mount points shouldn't really factor in much. |
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... for the use case where you want your tank to stand up
straight and therefore present as conspicuous a target as
possible. |
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Actually, there might be a niche there in riot control. It
could present, slightly above the heads of the crowd, a
stern yet caring face, as of one who was "not angry, just
disappointed", and would right itself like a weeble every
time it was overthrown. It would drive people completely
nuts. |
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Meanwhile, in the side streets, the gas-masked phalanx all
in black would be mustering. |
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