S.I.G.E.R. is a project of unicycle robot.
The name is an acronym meaning: Stabilized Inertial Gyroscope Equipment for Robot.

I am in charge of the technological survey department in a French subsidiary of a well known group for the packaging of liquid foods; and technological changes are still my passion.

However my career made me go away from some other passions like domestic robots applications, while allowing me to discover lot of technical and management methodologies in innovation. I actually involved in the management of numerous projects linked to electromagnetic fields, capacitive metrology, infrared radiation processes, aseptic processes, leading frequently on patent applications.

I began to study this demonstrator that is using a new stabilizing process after having monitor the developments in robotic technology and for taking up a challenge moreover.

Domestic robot applications does not take sufficiently in account the ROI for final users (Return on Investment) like ASIMO of Honda Motor Co, with its prohibitive cost.
What about these walking robot and their applications?

This technological success is the result of the efforts of a major company with a huge investment since 1986. I am clearly not opposed to such approach because I am sure that humanoid robots will be one of the jewels of the new “R.T. bubble”one day, exciting all the stock market on the right direction. But lots of criterias pushing me to believe there is niche markets more accessible for now.
For living in human environment there is no doubt that robots must stand up and compensate the lack of stabilization by a total control of verticality.
Since "HERO1" (1983, Heath Company) with three wheels, the kinematic of robots has evolved following two main directions:



- The rolling robots, including two wheels in parallel "inverted pendulum".
- The walking robots with of course the bipedal structure.

There are similarities and also lot of differences.

About similarities:
- The evolution of algorithms, components and actuators.
- The high cost of solutions to do an efficient application.

About differences:
- The application field. This is in theory an advantage for the biped robots, with similarity to human beings environment. It is not evident that the primary goal of domestic robotic application is to design a robot able to go up stairs and get shopping.
Lots of applications are still accessible to rolling robots especially if they succeed in stabilizing vertically on irregular surfaces.

- The psychological impact (news: newscientist ). A factor often overlooked that has a great importance for any object moving inside the human environment. Thus for human beings a rolling object has generally an identity much easy to distinguish Vs "alive entity" while being able to create exciting links, like the car and its driver! Its a fact that androids are felt as substitutes (except for fans). The social impact is much more complex and we encounter rejection or fear even for countries as Japan or Korea able to feel such approach as progress.

Thus, I tried to integrate the contradictions and advantages of both axes and I found this process by searching an economical solution without using high technology.
S.I.G.E.R. (acronym of Stabilized Inertial Gyroscope Equipment for Robot) must be evaluated like an economic solution compared to bipedal solutions and also a much more robust technology (in terms of performance) compared to inverted pendulums on two wheels.
This model of S.I.G.E.R. is a first demonstrator. The purpose is to prove the effectiveness of the process. You could find on this blog some explanations and videos that I wanted to put online for let you appreciate the performances.

“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” Alan Kay ;-)