The

CUBLI
LINA
1221011

ROBOTIKA (7TEMA)
TEKNIK ELEKTRO
UNIVERSITAS INTERNASIONAL BATAM

Reference Journal
The Cubli: A Reaction Wheel Based 3D Inverted
Pendulum by Mohanarajah Gajamohan, Michael
Muehlebach, Tobias Widmer, and Raffaello
DAndrea.
The Cubli: A Cube that can Jump Up and
Balance by Mohanarajah Gajamohan, Michael
Merz, Igor Thommen and Raffaello DAndrea.

Introduction
Cubes aren't usually the go-to shape when creating
an object that's meant to move around, but
researchers in Switzerland have created one that
can do just that along with a handful of other
surprising talents. Called the Cubli, it measures
nearly 6 inches on each side and can walk around
by continually flipping itself over. Perhaps more
impressively, it can also balance on any of its sides
or even just a single corner. As the research team
from ETH Zurich's Institute for Dynamic Systems
and Control, the cube can even remain balanced
while a surface is raised up at an angle beneath it.

SIMILAR TO HOW SATELLITES ARE STABILIZED

IN SPACE
Though it's a moving cube, the Cubli still relies on a
series of spinning wheels to get going. Three internal
wheels angled along a different axis each will spin
faster or slower in order to maintain enough
momentum to keep the cube balanced. By quickly
halting a spinning wheel, the cube can also be
caused to flip over, effectively allowing it to move
around. The researchers say that Cubli's system of
spinning wheels is similar to what stabilizes satellites
out in space, and that other research groups have
considered using this technology to build robots that
could be used to explore other planets.

Introduction
Watching the contraption raise
itself up is fascinating. From a
position sitting flat on one of the
faces, the Cubli first kicks itself up
onto an edge. Next, it jumps up
onto a corner by spinning up the
reaction wheel perpendicular to
the resting edge. If researchers
want to make the Cubli walk, it
basically does the same thing in
reverse reaction wheels cut out
at the right time and allow the
Cubli to fall in the desired
direction.

This method of using

reaction torque for
stability is similar to the
process used to keep
satellites stable in orbit,
the algorithms at work
in the Cubli are
completely different.
There is interest in
using robots based on
this type of design for
planetary exploration,
but for the time being,
Cubli is just a neat
concept.

Introduction
The Cubli is a 15 15 15 cm cube that can jump
up and balance on its corner. Reaction wheels
mounted on three faces of the cube rotate at high
angular velocities and then brake suddenly, causing
the Cubli to jump up. Once the Cubli has almost
reached the corner stand up position, controlled
motor torques are applied to make it balance on its
corner. In addition to balancing, the motor torques
can also be used to achieve a controlled fall such
that the Cubli can be commanded to fall in any
arbitrary direction. Combining these three abilities -jumping up, balancing, and controlled falling -- the
Cubli is able to 'walk'.

Introduction
The Cubli has two unique features:

Cubli balancing on the corner. In the current version,

the Cubli (controller) must be started while holding
the Cubli near the equilibrium position. Power is
provided from an external constant voltage supply.

Introduction

The Cubli jump-up strategy: (a) Flat to Edge: Initially

lying flat on its face, the Cubli jumps up to stand on
its edge. (b) Edge to Corner: The Cubli goes from
balancing on an edge to balancing on a corner.

This robot started with a simple idea

Can we build a 15cm sided cube that can jump up,
balance on its corner, and walk across our desk
using off-the-shelf motors, batteries, and electronic
components?
There are multiple ways to keep a cube in its balance,
but jumping up requires a sudden release of energy.
Intuitively momentum wheels seemed like a good idea
to store enough energy while still keeping the cube
compact and self-contained.
Furthermore, the same momentum wheels can be used
to implement a reaction-torque based control algorithm
for balancing by exploiting the reaction torques on the
cubes body when the wheels are accelerated or
decelerated.

How it Work?
The first step in
creating the robot,
therefore, was to look
at the physics to figure
out if a jump-up based
on momentum wheels
was possible. The
image below shows
some of the math to
figure out the Moment
of Inertia (MOI) of the
wheel and full cube.

Click to Watch!

System Dynamics

Illustration of the one dimensional prototype

consisting of a square plastic plate that holds the
momentum exchange wheel through the motor at its
center. The plate is attached to a bearing at the
bottom.

System Dynamics

System Dynamics

Braking Mechanism

Figure above shows the current iteration of the

braking mechanism where an RC servo is used to
quickly collide a metal barrier with the bolt head
attached to the momentum wheel.

Braking Mechanism
The metal barrier and the RC servo are
connected using a thin metal sheet to
ensure that most of the impact is taken
by the metal barrier. Furthermore, the
design guarantees that the metal barrier
is easily replaceable. The RC servobased braking mechanism had several
advantages over the initial solenoidbased braking mechanism in terms of
weight (a reduction of 39g), power and
durability.

Electronics and Software

The power, computation and control components
were not mounted on the one dimensional prototype
to avoid making the first prototype too complex.
Figure below shows the overall electronics setup
except for the power, which was provided by a
constant voltage supply.

Nowadays, Cubli is a high technology

toys in laboratories, but in the future, it
could become a planet rover!