About Bicycling Robot “Murata Boy”
Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd has developed a bicycling robot “Murata Boy” which has been demonstrated at “CEATEC Japan 2005” Murata Manufacturing booth at Makuhari Messe, Chiba prefecture during October 4 to 8. “Murata Boy” is built with Murata products such as gyro sensors. Murata has designed its features and control system in-house, based on our manufacturing technology and knowledge nurtured through Murata’s leading edge technologies. Main features of “Murata Boy”are as follows.
Background and ObjectivesMain Features of”Murata Boy”
- Positioning and motion control (Can run at any speed from 0 to approximately 60cm/sec without falling)
- Free standing (Can stand still without falling)
- Obstacle detection (Detects obstacles ahead)
- Reverse run (Can run backwards)
- Automated run (Can run on a pre-determined course while detecting its own position)
- Communication (Can run or stop as it receives commands from a PC, etc.)
- Image transmission (Can capture images by a camera and transmit them to PC, etc.)
Main Murata Components Used and Their Features
Position Detection Gyro Sensor (for navigation)
It detects the direction the robot is advancing with angular velocity. The current position can be
recognized by using the distance calculated from the advancing direction and tire revolution.
Slant Detection Gyro Sensor
- It detects the slant angle during the run. The bicycle is steered using the signal sent from the gyro sensor. By arbitrarily controlling the rotation of flywheel inside torso, it maintains balance without falling when stopped.
Ultrasonic Sensor
- It detects whether or not there is an obstacle ahead, and how far it is, by projecting ultrasound and generating signal from the bounced wave.
Shock Sensor for Vibration Detection
- It detects vibrations from bump on the ground or uneven surface, and converts the information to electric signal.
General-Purpose Components for Common Electronic Circuits
Several general-purpose electronic components are used for common electronic circuits, including “chip monolithic ceramic capacitor” to properly supply electricity, “ceramic resonator (CERALOCK®)” to resonate a reference signal, “NTC Thermistor” to detect temperature, “Trimmer Potentiometer” to compensate for the circuit characteristic variance, “EMI filter (EMIFIL®) to
suppress electromagnetic noise , etc.
Nowadays, we see various types of robots implemented for entertainment and security purpose in daily situations. Many Murata products including capacitors to store electricity, sensors to control motions, communication modules to exchange information, etc. are used in those robots. Robot market is projected to reach 7.2 trillion yen by 2025 (by Japan Robot Association). We can anticipate an expansion in electronic component demand.
Various robot markets oriented Murata products are used in “Murata Boy”. Its features and structure are realized through our advanced control technology and circuit design technology, cornerstones of Murata’s creative endeavors. “Murata Boy” will introduce Murata’s various superior products and a potential of Murata technology.
“Murata Boy” is a fruit of inter-organizational teamwork by young members from sales divisions, staff divisions, product divisions, manufacturing technology divisions, etc who volunteered to work on planning and production. Incidentally, Murata also produced self-running bicycling robot in 1990. At that time, this robot received close attention and high evaluation internationally. Our new “Murata Boy” houses new electronic components to greatly enhance various functions, and is aimed at clearly demonstrating potentials electronic technologies hold. Furthermore, we hope to appeal to a wide range of customers, Murata products, technological finesse, spirit of challenge and teamwork, by using “Murata Boy” for publicity and advertisement, in order to improve Murata’s corporate image.
Contact:
Yukio Oshima
General Manager, General Administration Dept.
Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
P: 075-955-6786
F: 075-955-6526
W:http://www.murata.com
