Mobile Robot Chassis Made Self-Balancing
Four-wheel SCUTTLE robot converted to two-wheel balance-bot with MPU-6050 IMU.
The SCUTTLE robot is an elegantly simple robotics platform. It features an open frame made out of aluminum extrusion, a differential motor drive system with supporting casters, and a Raspberry Pi (or other single-board computer) for control. It appears to be fairly stable, and something that would be appropriate in a number of mobile robotics applications.
Limenitis Reducta, however, wasn’t satisfied with a four-wheeled platform, and decided to make his SCUTTLE robot balance on only its two powered wheels. While this sort of conversion would typically be a massive undertaking for most robots, hardware modifications for the SCUTTLE were actually extremely simple. Powered wheels were moved to the edge of the frame, and a supporting piece of extrusion was repositioned. The casters were removed since they’re no longer needed.
The only real hardware addition is an MPU-6050 IMU, which was mounted to the repositioned extrusion via a 3D-printed fixture. The Raspberry Pi was also reprogrammed, allowing it to read the new sensor unit and command the wheels to react appropriately. In-use, the extrusion body leans back to center the robot’s mass over the wheels, and the system needed some initial PID tuning to keep it in a steady upright state.
If you’d like to make your own, instructions are laid out in this YouTube playlist, and here on GitHub. All you’ll need is a SCUTTLE robot to modify, plus an inexpensive MPU-6050 IMU! A short clip of this newly balancing robot is shown below.
