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ABOUT BALANCETECH
ABOUT THE BALANCING TECHNOLOGY
A special technology keeps the robot models in this kit
balanced whether they are stationary, or moving forward
or backward, or turning. The same technology is used
inside hoverboards, Segways, and other personal
transporters that balance on two side-by-side wheels.
This balancing behavior is achieved with sensors and a
microcontroller that work together to tell the motors
how to turn the wheels in order to remain balancing. A
microcontroller is a computer; it functions as the "brain"
of the balancing vehicle.
The wheels are the only part of this type of balancing
vehicle that are touching the ground, so the balancing
behavior depends on the location of the wheels relative to
the vehicle's center of gravity at all times. For more
information about the center of gravity, see page 36. The
whole system is powered by batteries.
There are three primary types of sensors at work in the
balancing vehicles. A gyroscope sensor is used to detect
the angle of tilt of the vehicle. An accelerometer is a
sensor that detects the acceleration, or change in speed,
of the vehicle. Together, these two sensors can tell the
microcontroller if the vehicle is tilting too far forward or
backward and moving too fast forward or backward to
remain balanced. Then, sensors attached to the motors,
called encoders, can determine the current speed of the
wheels. The microcontroller uses the readings from the
gyroscope sensor, the accelerometer, and the encoders to
instruct the motors what to do. Programmers write
algorithms, or complex sets of calculations, that run on
the microcontroller. The algorithms are used to
constantly analyze the sensor readings and make instant
adjustments to the speed of the wheels.
If the vehicle is tipping too far forward, the wheels will
speed up in that direction, so the wheels always stay
underneath the center of gravity. If the vehicle is tipping
too far backward, the wheels will speed up in reverse,
again to keep the wheel under the center of gravity and to
make sure the vehicle stays balanced upright. The vehicle
does all this while at the same time allowing the motors
to turn enough to move the vehicles forward or backward
in space, depending on how the driver is controlling it.
6
Parts of the balancing robotic base unit:
BACK
Ba ery
Compartment
AA x 6
FRONT
Side view diagram
of balancing robot:
-90°
Movement
range
Power
Switch
Motor
Output
SIDE
Motors with Encoders
Main Board
Microcontroller
Bluetooth Module
Gyroscope Sensor
Acceleration Sensor
0°
Tilt angle
Submarine
90°
Wheel
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