Inertial Force Sensing System for Mobility Robots

A small and lightweight inertial force-sensing system was realized that allows biped-type robots to stand stably, and rolling-type robots to stay upright when they move. The system consists of a quartz yaw rate sensor, which is a highly reliable device that is used as the on-board sensor in automobiles. The system provides a set of the true posture angles of the robot. The system consists of three angular rate sensors, three acceleration sensors, and a digital signal processor (DSP).
This technology was developed as part of a collaboration with Toyota Motor Corporation. Partner robots with this system installed were successfully demonstrated at the WORLD EXPO 2005 in Aichi, Japan.