Gyroscope in a crawler?

[hank the crank]

I'm not sure if this is the correct place for this. If it needs moved thats o-k. I've been wondering if a small gyro installed in a crawler frame would work. They are used in all kinds of applications from big ships to space vehicles to stabilize them. Why not a crawler? Is there one small enuff to fit and still work? I'm thinking it could be powered from a small dedicated battery however it may be limited in effectiveness because of its small size. Theres something for you electronics guys to think on.

[EeePee]

By what means will it stabilize a crawler?

[losikid]

I don't think you understand how the gyroscrope works

For stabilizations a "gyroscope" is just a sensor that measures rotational velocity....the data is sent to a computer which will auto adjust stuff (in a space ship, it'll adjust the thrusters to counter the forces causing the space ship to be unstable).

Last thing you want on a crawler is a gyro that can modify your throttle and steering signals potentially causing a gate (or other) penalty.

[jason]

Originally Posted by losikid

I don't think you understand how the gyroscrope works

For stabilizations a "gyroscope" is just a sensor that measures rotational velocity....the data is sent to a computer which will auto adjust stuff (in a space ship, it'll adjust the thrusters to counter the forces causing the space ship to be unstable).

Last thing you want on a crawler is a gyro that can modify your throttle and steering signals potentially causing a gate (or other) penalty.

There are also gyroscopes that use a motor to spin up to a high rpm and add stability such as those on an RC motorcycle.

[losikid]

Originally Posted by jason

There are also gyroscopes that use a motor to spin up to a high rpm and add stability such as those on an RC motorcycle.

Yes...that type of setup was generally used in applications before electronics were useful (or existed). Take a heavy mass, spin in a axis perpendicular to the roll axis. The angular momentum of the object counters forces that try to rotate it about the roll axis. Large ships use to spin a wheel that weighted like 50 tons to help make the ship more stable in rough water.

Nowadays, gyroscope stabilization, is generally some form of a gyro sensor sending data to a computer. The computer then drives some sort of mechanical system to stabilize the object.

An extremely accurate gyro uses lasers buts costs alot...a lower cost gyro can be had in the form of a computer chip (I'm not sure how it senses the motion), but its not at accurate.

And the mechanical systems they usually control is usually some form of flap/fin on ships, missiles, aircraft, etc. Space ships have thrusters to control movement.

For a crawler or other vehicle you could use a a small gyro sensor to control some sort of counter weight system. But this would be rather complex and bulky (not ideal for a comp crawler). Or you could use it to adjust the throttle and steering. But this also has many disadvantages in a comp setting...and it would take a very knowledgeable person to write a program to save falls and optimize stability in a crawler better than a drivers instinct can

[losikid]

Damn, i just google search to make sure my memory served me right...a mass of around 50 tons was used. But i found something that said they had a 500-ton mass in a battleship

U.S. Battleships: An Illustrated Design History - Norman Friedman - Google Books

[Olle P]

The one use I can visualize for crawlers is to have a gyro influence an active suspension to help on side hills and slopes.

[losikid]

Originally Posted by Olle P

The one use I can visualize for crawlers is to have a gyro influence an active suspension to help on side hills and slopes.

How do you propose that without big clunky hardware?

I thought about building a comp crawler that relied more on electronics. Something that gives a higher chance of landing on all 4's when the crawler falls, make adjustments if the crawler is in an off camber situation, prevent a roll over (sense when the tires get "light", then make a proper adjustment), etc.

I've came up with some ideas, but have yet to come up with an idea that involves adding more mechanical parts to influence something.

[Olle P]

"Big and clunky" is a relative concept. With a biggish/heavier crawler, like super class or scale truck there's room for some hydraulics.
I don't claim that the result would provide a better overall crawling ability than more kosher methods used, just that it's possible to do.

[hank the crank]

Cool discussion guys. Obviously I don't know much about gyro's, I was still thinking old school. Just a stand alone gyro powered by a small motor.

[R_2]

Well, I think that it would be so small in size and weight, that it would have quite little effect on the size you could put inside crawler.. Or maybe put some 20k rpm on it

What comes to electric gyro stabilisation on crawlers, I dont see much help from it. Speeds are so slow, as gyro senses sudden movements, and as a result of this, you should set the gyro so sensitive that it def would affect even when you dont want it to...
Much more in go-fast vehicles. Ie foffers, you could limit your wheelies, stop it from tumbling over on WOT...

And second, I would rather not have my rig doing anything on its own


edit: But hey, dont stop thinking outside the box, even miles away from it Thats how things evolve

[hank the crank]

Yes indeed. That is why I threw this out here. This is a great bunch of people with many talents and are capable of amazing things. I'll think on this some more and maybe play with it some.

[ROLANDROCKSHOP]

so if i rollover will this gyro make my rig land on its wheels???

[1silentjedi]

Ok you guys are all stuck on big old tech..... I fly a 450 class heli and she’s running a gyro stabilized head..... essentially a 3 axis gyro connected to 3 servos.


Now imagine.
They gyro feeds signals to a servo mounted between each shock top and the tower, adjusting the height of each shock in real time to attempt to keep the vehicle level

I think I might just build a proof of concept prototype

[Greatscott]

Originally Posted by 1silentjedi

Ok you guys are all stuck on big old tech..... I fly a 450 class heli and she’s running a gyro stabilized head..... essentially a 3 axis gyro connected to 3 servos.


Now imagine.
They gyro feeds signals to a servo mounted between each shock top and the tower, adjusting the height of each shock in real time to attempt to keep the vehicle level

I think I might just build a proof of concept prototype

You do understand that this is a 7 year old thread, right?

With that, there is a balance between what is practical with making things work better, and it is always interesting to see what happens when things like gyros get added to RCs.

Gyros are actually used in crawlers, but they have caused problems and have been of no help. Many of the RTR system from Traxxas and Spektrum have TSM/AVC that use a gyro. But, when turned on while in a crawler, they cause all kinds of control problems. I think this is a programming issue, AVC and TSM are intended for fast RCs, and not ones that are going into extreme angles on purpose.