Active Gyroscope Stabilization With James Bruton

If you need to balance a walking robot, or airborne drone, an IMU (inertial measurement unit) is often the perfect choice. This allows the device to dynamically adjust inputs, generally tuned using a PID (proportional–integral–derivative) loop.

IMU units generally have gyroscope functionality to intuit pitch, yaw, and tilt, but what about the larger spinning mass-based gyroscopes that you pull with a string and magically-mechanically keep themselves upright? Could this type of device be used to keep a full robotic assembly stable as well?

In the video below, James Bruton sets out to find the answer, starting with experiments to see how such a gyroscope works, then mounting it in a gimbal. This is quite a fascinating demonstration from a physics point of view, and with a few details worked out, he’s able to move on to gyroscope automation.

Taking a cue from boat stabilization systems, he created a boat cross section and mounted a custom gyroscope that is spun with a powerful brushless motor. This setup is tilted in one axis with respect to the "boat" hull by a Dynamixel servo. Movement is monitored by an MPU-6050 IMU, along with an Arduino Pro Mini, which sends data to an Arduino Mega and Dynamixel shield that actually controls the tilt.

Of course the setup didn’t work perfectly to begin with, but after quite a bit of tuning, the simulated boat hull is able to keep itself in place. He eventually even places it on a keel piece that makes it much less stable initially, but is able to get it to balance like that as well. Code and CAD for the build can be found on GitHub if you want to examine things further.