Introducing Gimball at Innorobo

 Introducing Gimball at Innorobo
Gimball is a crash resilient flying robot stemming from work at NCCR Robotics
lab, Laboratory of Intelligent Systems at EPFL, Switzerland and will be
displayed and demonstrated by its designers at the NCCR Robotics stand at
Innorobo.
While much robotics research centres around collision avoidance, the team
behind the Gimball decided to take the novel approach of developing a robot
inspired by insects that would not avoid crashing, but would not be put off
course or damaged during a collision.
The Gimball works using a unique double carbon-fiber ring which allows the
core of the robot to remain upright. Two propellers are used for movement,
while fins enable steering and an outer cage absorbs shocks and protects the
inner mechanism. Not needing to avoid collisions means that the Gimball
doesn’t require complex sensors, which can be heavy and easily damaged, thus
making the robot lighter, more robust and easy to use in a wide range of
situations.
With further work, the Gimball will be used in rescue operations, where a
camera can be attached to the front allowing human teams to see what is inside
a building which may be too dangerous to enter. Rescue operations tend to
involve cluttered spaces often with limited fields of vision, so the development
of a robot that can fly in unpredictable terrains unaffected by darkness, smoke
or crashing is invaluable to on the ground rescue teams after disasters. Future
work will involve development of a foldable structure for easy transportation.
The Gimball is winner of a Robotics spin fund, an NCCR Robotics initiative to
aid creation of start up companies out of the NCCR Robotics, and has been
selected as one of 25 finalists in the Hello Tomorrow Challenge.
About NCCR Robotics
The National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Robotics is a nationwide centre, launched by the Swiss National Science Foundation, with the
common objective of developing new, human-oriented robotic technology for
improving our quality of life. The centre gathers leading robotics experts in
Switzerland from cutting-edge research institutions: EPFL as leading
house, ETH Zurich, University of Zurich and Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial
Intelligence. Research follows three strands; rescue robotics, where robots are
being developed to use swarming technology and multiple modes of
locomotion; wearable robotics, where roboticists work with neurologists and
materials science to develop unique prosthetics that can truly work with their
wearer; and development of a new generation of foldable and reconfigurable
robotic systems for teaching.
Contacts
NCCR Robotics
Anne-Christine Butty, KTT Officer and Programme Manager at NCCR Robotics
Tel: +41 21 69 31016, Email: [email protected]
Linda Seward, Communications Officer at NCCR Robotics
Tel: +41 21 69 36939, Email: [email protected]
Gimball
Adrien Briod, Laboratory of Intelligent Systems, EPFL
Tel: +41 78 831 72 34, Email: [email protected]