The arm that reflects the tilt angle is directly connected to a simple white gear. That gear drives the potentiometer/encoder you are seeing. It means the encoder rotates faster as it's geared, and enables the stabilisation/feedback to be more accurate.
I think it's brilliant how they keep all the weight so low. It seems like it was a guiding principle in the design. However I also think your drive shaft design is brilliant !
Thanks! I'm trying to keep the center of gravity low as well. I could adopt a few of their techniques in my design, but that may be a version 2 effort. I think I want to see my current ideas through first rather than straight up adopt theirs.
The arm at the back (4:23 in video), I don't think that links to a potentiomiter, I think instead it rotates the main drive motor so changes in tilt don't cause a change in drive rotation. You see the drive motor has a timing belt up to the bevel gears, if the motor was fixed, as the counterweight tilted it would impart rotation in the timing pulley and cause the sphere to move forwards/backwards. Rotation the motor with the tilt removes the need to try to compensate for this electronically. Do you think that could be the purpose of it? If they wanted a POT on the tilt they could get it from the actuator and save themselves all that complexity with the linkage
The arm that reflects the tilt angle is directly connected to a simple white gear. That gear drives the potentiometer/encoder you are seeing. It means the encoder rotates faster as it's geared, and enables the stabilisation/feedback to be more accurate.
I think it's brilliant how they keep all the weight so low. It seems
like it was a guiding principle in the design. However I also think your drive shaft
design is brilliant !
Thanks! I'm trying to keep the center of gravity low as well. I could adopt a few of their techniques in my design, but that may be a version 2 effort. I think I want to see my current ideas through first rather than straight up adopt theirs.
The arm at the back (4:23 in video), I don't think that links to a potentiomiter, I think instead it rotates the main drive motor so changes in tilt don't cause a change in drive rotation. You see the drive motor has a timing belt up to the bevel gears, if the motor was fixed, as the counterweight tilted it would impart rotation in the timing pulley and cause the sphere to move forwards/backwards. Rotation the motor with the tilt removes the need to try to compensate for this electronically. Do you think that could be the purpose of it? If they wanted a POT on the tilt they could get it from the actuator and save themselves all that complexity with the linkage
I still don't see how they can put the batteries on the flywheel and still get power to the middle without a 3rd slipring
it's either a slip ring buried under there, or it could be some kind of custom brushed solution rather than a standard slip ring.
I agree it is beautiful