Let me introduce to you Rezero.
This little fellow was developed
by a group of 10 undergraduate students
at the Autonomous Systems Laboratory
at ETH-Zurich.
Our robot belongs to a family of robots
called Ballbots.
Instead of wheels, a Ballbot is balancing
and moving on one single ball.
The main characteristics of such a system is
that there's one sole contact point to the ground.
This means that the robot
is inherently unstable.
It's like when I am trying to stand
on one foot.
You might ask yourself, what's the usefulness
of a robot that's unstable?
Now we'll explain that in a second.
Let me first explain how Rezero
actually keeps his balance.
Rezero keeps his balance by constantly
measuring his pitch angle with a sensor.
He then counteracts and avoids toppling over
by turning the motors appropriately.
This happens 160 times per second,
and if anything fails in this process,
Rezero would immediately fall to the ground.
Now to move and to balance,
Rezero needs to turn the ball.
The ball is driven by three special wheels
that allow Rezero to move into any direction
and also move around his own axis
at the same time.
Due to his instability, Rezero is always
in motion. Now here's the trick.
It's indeed exactly this instability that allows
a robot to move very [dynamically].
Let's play a little.
You may have wondered what happens
if I give the robot a little push.
In this mode, he's trying to maintain
his position.
For the next demo, I'd like you to introduce
to my colleagues Michael, on the computer,
and Thomas who's helping me onstage.
In the next mode, Rezero is passive,
and we can move him around.
With almost no force I can control
his position and his velocity.
I can also make him spin.
In the next mode, we can get Rezero
to follow a person.
He's now keeping a constant distance to Thomas.
This works with a laser sensor
that's mounted on top of Rezero.
With the same method, we can also
get him to circle a person.
We call this the orbiting mode.
All right, thank you, Thomas.
(Applause)
Now, what's the use of this technology?
For now, it's an experiment, but let me
show you some possible future applications.
Rezero could be used in exhibitions or parks.
With a screen it could inform people or show
them around in a fun and entertaining way.
In a hospital, this device could be used to
carry around medical equipment.
Due to the Ballbot system, it has a very small
footprint and it's also easy to move around.
And of course, who wouldn't like
to take a ride on one of these.
And these are more practical applications.
But there's also a certain beauty
within this technology.
(Music)
(Applause)
Thank you.
(Applause)
Thank you.