Friday, May 18, 2012

Beautiful BEAM robot

BEAM robots are a special kind of mobile robot; they have no microprocessor of any kind, only analog electronics such as amplifiers, transistors, resistors, diodes and capacitors. This video shows one of the most elegant designs of a BEAM robot I've ever seen, the W-3 from Mechanical Mutants. (hat tip to Hack a Day)



This is a remarkably robust design. The inner wheel oscillates back and forth around the vertical axis, the outer wheel pivots along an axis on the direction of travel. Simple touch sensors provide feedback influencing turns. The outer wheel also acts as a collision barrier. You can build your own! The circuit diagrams are here.