Péter Fankhauser: Meet Rezero, the dancing ballbot

[Wormtail81]

lol the dance was very lame

[athusiva1]

If anyone knows, what's that song its dancing to? Appreciate it. :)

[athusiva1]

@fankipete Thank you very much :)

[1schwererziehbar1]

asimo just got served.

[AMARAPORNPLOY]

Support me

[robertrsims]

One word. Stairs...

[0vedi0]

i saw this thing at the ETH Zürich, they can controll it with an xbox controller

[Drvelasco45]

Finally a robot that imitates the human feedback movement mechanisms... those moon-walkers were going nowhere

[safaasoo]

nice



[40Kfrog]

Rosie the Robot!

[dukesphiltre]

Wow nice innovation...

Proved it Graduation is not a matter of innovation...

Even most of the graduates now are dumbos ;)

[ajaykumarkohli007]

What is the point?

[spiderobert]

@ajaykumarkohli007 GET OFF MY LAWN YOU DERN KIDS! AND TAKE YOUR BALL ROBOT WITH YOU!

[Nineteen1900Hundred]

Can we have cars with spherical wheels like in "I Robot"?

[Gemanite55]

Gizmoduck Armor, here I come!

[vo0sto0]

what it could be used for? survaillance on innocent people for example...just like they like to listen to your phones and what not.

[janetathensbay]

Gather an entire 'troupe', dress with creative costumes...a ball ballet.

[psycho3968]

@kezman2003.. i think you misunderstand the meaning of unstable in this context, its its instability that makes it so exactingly responsive. e. g the most famous and efficient fighter aircraft are inherrantly designed unstable, its the technology thats makes them a usable platform

[psycho3968]

something to carry your luggage around the airport, follow you wherever you go/ serve canapes and drinks at functions, carry dangerous items into hazardous environments... limitless uses...

[farvision]

0:15



[0rnJ]

This applied to cars, would be HUGE.

[Nineteen1900Hundred]

@0rnJ

Yeah, have you seen "I, Robot" ?

[JieriCian]

That is so harass.

[sou1copo]

Beautiful!



[HookshotHero]

The future is here!

[TriplePalindromous]

First thought I had was for filming without the need of rails and shit. Establish pattern, keep distance from objects and people, etc.

[Larriisama]

I must say this could come in handy.

[shrodingersman]

finally a robot with some balls !

[valdisxp1]

@shrodingersman 1 ball to be exact

[y0nd3r]

Finally! Rosie!

[leonidasx666]

Small size and ergonomic wheelchairs! :)

[qncsc]

stairs?!?!

[Roskoloch]

@qncsc Elevator

[rockinrollgirlyhea]

go shorty! <3

[Scripterrific]

Wow. Now all those people that said not to reinvent the wheel sure look pretty stupid.

[DamionCrane]

THAT is FREAKING AWESOME!!!

EY, SANTA CLAUSE!!!

[Keovar]

It has a spheel (spherical wheel), like in the RPG, Technoir. ☺

[VoiceOfAleppo]

@Keovar a spheel ? why not just called it what it's .....a ball perhaps....LOL

[Keovar]

@VoiceOfAleppo

Because I was saying it was like something found in the game Technoir, and they are called spheels there.

[breaneainn]

It's a bit gay

[a575981735977018]

@breaneainn in what way?

[breaneainn]

@a575981735977018 It's dancing. Not exactly the terminator is it?

[a575981735977018]

@breaneainn You might have a point there :)

[PaladinPK]

@Phelan666 Exactly!

[Phelan666]

/watch?v=8QfSzgV1q5g

[CaptainValor]

@jvillavic Thank you! I thought the same thing!

[goneutt]

Orbit mode sounds like the start of a fat joke.

[bindlessMoredom]

Now all it needs is a few machine guns and you have a dancing death-bot.

[lmeagno13]

I've gotta say. Robot's got balls.

[TheBama325]

there's some smart people out there..

[geza96]

Flat clean surface only. Would not do well at my house full of toys. And cables and pets. Well done guys.

[bonodebeer]

How about an orbiting camera on a movie set? Or is that too obvious (and did someone already mention this)?

[kkthebest100]

NICE ONE

[liveejd]

if that ball get dirty..?

[RobinSCheema]

Ahh, I see my old computer's mouse roller ball has done well.

[12KX21]

@RobinSCheema you must've had one big ass mouse.

[ccm800]

dyson vacuum



[VoiceOfAleppo]

to be honest , i like this very much .

it's such a simple design and yet so powerful !!!

[fankipete]

@VoiceOfAleppo Cool, thank you. We are glad you like Rezero.

[SalixAlba256]

Curious as to the algorithm they use to restore balance. Is it a explicit algorithm or some kind of neural net or adaptive system?

[VoiceOfAleppo]

@SalixAlba256 well once you deal with the mechanics its actually a quite simple one from the handbook of control theory or an "explicit" one using your own terms.

there are lots of software simulators available that allow developers to run their code on virtual bots before attempting to go for the real thing

[SalixAlba256]

@VoiceOfAleppo Back when i was looking at AI most of the NN problems tackled seemed to be linear relationships. It always seemed to be a bit more interesting to try and develop a model of something which was non-linear. Balancing seems like a good example of such a project and it would be fun to see what sort of system would be needed to be able to learn how to balance.

[VoiceOfAleppo]

@SalixAlba256 Yeah i've worked with NN's too , btw you can solve nonlinear problems with them by increasing the level of connectivity (i.e more layers in feed forward networks) .

actually the balancing is an age old problem studied in control theory mostly known as the broomstick balancing problem , albeit this one is more complicated since it moves in 3 degrees of freedom (forward/backwards , left/right , around its axis) and having 3 wheels ...etc yet the principle remains the same

cheers

[fankipete]

@SalixAlba256 VioceOfAleppo pointed it out correctly. The control is based on a mathematical model of the mechanical system and forms a explicit feedback law from the sensors to the motors.

[hooloovoo1st]

Interesting project, but a bad talk.

[guitarmaestro078]

Everything was pretty sweet except the shitty dance at the end... WTF was that.. It just went around in circles with music in the background. 

[IDIEININIIS]

The applications are interesting, but I don't think this was worthy of a TED talk.

[Truthiness231]

Oh on the applications themselves: I think the hospital one would really work out though it'll be quite some time before we see them, and the ride "might" be acceptable by society... idk, first look at it reminded me of Mr. Garrison's "It" in it's "practicality"...

[Truthiness231]

Curses, he's succeeded at the ballbot before me... luckily I'm still years ahead on the wangdroid...

[goshokokosho]

Very "cold" presentation

[svinehunden]

Great for camera "tripod" :)

[twistedbass15]

Genius

[jsmith2144]

good for serving drinks, like r2

[JohnnyKidder]

I will would like 3 of these to serve drinks at my next party

[dumbnetworks]

what if it falls to one side?

[fankipete]

@dumbnetworks The ring around the robot and the shock absorbers on top protect the robot in case of a crash.

[dumbnetworks]

@fankipete ok, I wasn't clear enough, what if falls and, more important how does it get up on the ball?

[fankipete]

@dumbnetworks Rezero knows from which disturbances it can recover. When a that threshold is reached it turns of the motors in order not to hurt anybody. Then it falls on to the ring that's around the system and absorbs the shock while protecting the mechanics and electronics.

For now, Rezero has to be placed manually on the ball before turning it on.

[dumbnetworks]

@fankipete well I was wondering this because you want to use it as an info "bot" so if a kid slaps it this thing falls down so is basically game over, until some good samaritan puts humpty dumpty back online. Or not?

[fankipete]

@dumbnetworks You are right, an automatic stand up mechanism would be desirable in the future. Rezero is our first prototype and a lot has to be improved and added to make to a safe product.

[dumbnetworks]

@fankipete go for it dude, and congrats for a great start.

[atheer2002]

very promising..

[smikules]

fricken lasers attached to their ballbot's head

[MrIntelligenius]

What engineering field do i need to get into to be a part of such a project??

[Typhoonbladefist]

@MrIntelligenius it's a mix of electronic engineering and computer science, aka robotics.

[fankipete]

@MrIntelligenius Most students of our team are mechanical engineers and we worked together with 2 electrical engineers. You can find all the team members on our website about the project Rezero.

[MrIntelligenius]

@fankipete thank you

[VoiceOfAleppo]

@MrIntelligenius there are many fields that could allow you to join such projects , because robotics is becoming a multidisciplinary field .

to name a few : computer science/engineering , mechanical engineering , mechatronics ...etc

it basically depends at which university you're planning to study

[nasikato9999]

the question is....will it blend??

[Crazee108]

its cool, i like the idea that it can be used to carry medical equipment.. smart. =)

[kezman2003]

@Crazee108 are you serious? Even the designers started the talk by saying it's an UNSTABLE robot, and you agree with the idea of it carrying around medical equipment??

[Crazee108]

@kezman2003 They meant unstable because it's CONSTANTLY in motion, not that it will fall over... it can right itself up. So yes, it can certainly carry around those IV bags to follow people in hospital settings... not medical tools or whatever though

[chhabrakadabra]

for those people wondering why the giant ball exists even though it only makes the robot unstable, the inherent instability is the reason why the robot is so agile. it has a much lower response time.

[Blurns]

I think it would be more efficient if they took the ball off & just put the 3 wheels on the ground.

[maikeru01]

Why not just use 3 balls and eliminate the whole balancing issue?

[arngorf]

@maikeru01 computing the movement is cheep. moters for 3 balls is not. Plus.. 3 ball takes 3 times as much space. Besides. Theres no real downside to balancing.

[kentrel2]

Watching it dance with the music turned off is like watching a desperate cry for help

[bestplugins]

Awesome robot, but its dancing skills are like mine... zero :)

[2nd3rd1st]

Instant thought? Could follow me around with a tray holding beer and nachos!

[NjC121]

Definitely the first robot I've seen that would fit into most everyday situations with humans. I can't wai until they start showing up in different places!

[deadlizard64]

0:14

[semenfer]

right like the Jetsons robots!

[ogrish84]

I wonder how long before the American government turns this technology into a weapon.

[yudy92]

This could also be a moving shelf. you can have your lets say remote, phone, etc etc and just call it "Rezero" and it detects where you are with a heat sensor so that way you wont have to look for things remembering you usually leave it on rezero. also, it can be used as an object transportation device. damn, i can think of so many uses for this.

[eatingtacos000]

wicked cool!

[ligamx]

It's cool but not very practical (IMO), because it needs to constantly keep balance; and since it seems to be battery-powered it makes no sense to be active all the time.

[jvillavic]

it's serge, from caprica...

[jtaggueg]

could it have hands?

[ehcmier]

Make a giant ball point pen to write huge cursive letters across large surfaces to be read from low-flying aircraft.

[tehKap0w]

so many ted talks need an speakers addendum "BTW, give us venture capital money"

[MrYungilike]

A nice idea without wheels, great!!!

[dude12nothin]

The robot is so white...

[Nineteen1900Hundred]

@dude12nothin

Would you prefer it to be more black?

[TheHickstead]

now imagine something like this but could actually fly near the ground!

[PaladinPK]

Use it instead of tires on a car, say goodby to parallel parking!

[Stereozucker]

@PaladinPK it sadly would take alot of the stability of the cars steering mechanics. the engines would have to be very very strong at high speed to redirect the cars direction. :( would be epic tough :)

[Rylaan]

@PaladinPK Not even goodbye, we would be saying hello to TRULY parallel parking. Parking that is done while parallel! :)

[HolyBmXfReAk2]

@PaladinPK Say goodbye to going anywhere near 70 mph also.

[Phelan666]

@PaladinPK Like in I, Robot.

[eatchiles]

short lived, i think

[PussiesUnite]

I want one

[quosmo1]

umm so it spun in a circle while you played an mp3... wow.

[Ghost00117]

This is really cool and amazing stuff. I wonder if they could add a feature that can allow it to get back to it's fe..., I mean it's ball when it falls down.

[sutphoe]

Reminds me of something out of Wall E

[clannon]

He's only half a male, though, because he only has one ball.

[Saesegral]

In the future I won't have to tip my waiter because my waiter will be a robot like this and I'll order my food through the touch screen on the table.

[ablestmage]

Looks like one of the Dwemer sphere bots from Morrowind (and now, Skyrim)

[LoveOnUrArms]

that guy looks short at the end ._.

[stephen1475]

i want one

[TheIslammiracle]

Best. sandwich. carrier. ever.

[craigant01]

it should have took a bow at the end! awesome though.

[wenman]

It will cool to be my personal assistance to carry my shopping bags or grocery.

[Willayam91]

I want one to serve me drinks...

[un2mensch]

Splendid!

[spikeguard]

right now the video has 303 views but 337 likes and 15 dislikes. How?

[Hibufu]

@spikeguard Hi there retard

[Anonymous124578]

Add a pipe with a ball on the end and get it to say exterminate, EXTERMINATE!

[benaberry]

a dancing partner for geeks!!!!

[Hyperproglo]

I want it to lift me up stairs and put me to bed, oh wait it's gonna have a problem with that.

[DavidAbrahamTV]

stupendous!

[GustavNils]

I love TED videos, but come on, why are they only 480p?

[sonicase]

where'd they get that giant mouse ball

[tcorp]

Looks cute. Meanwhile, the riot control and warfare industry is drooling at the pie hole over how much money they came make selling these to governments.

[pikkuadi]

For some reason it reminds me of Wall E..

[RICE510]

"EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!"

[popedpopcorn]

love it

[watcheem]

It may be cute now, just wait until they hunt us as prey.

[hardleecure]

@watcheem DUNDUNDUUU 

Oh no. It's the beginning of Skynet.

[ivnat77]

@watcheem

This is a popular exploited Hollywood scenario, making people to be afraid of technology. In reality, it is a tool that is no different from, say, a hammer: you can either kill with it or build a house.

[charlezurich]

reminds me of Roadkill Rodneys from Ninja Turtles

[RoZyk007]

they already have millions from patent...

[defect530]

you call that dancing? it can't even do the robot. lol

[defect530]

you call that dancing? it can't even do the robot.  lol

[lambent77777]

It's only a matter of time before the ballbots hook up with skynet. RUN! RUN FOR YOU LIVES.....

[Gamesharked]

I would love to have one of these follow me around in public and be my "pet." People would be like... "Uhhh, you got a robot following you." -- "OH, that? Naw, it's my pet." -- "o_O"

[karadan100]

That is so fucking cool.

[1ucasvb]

For those interested, the song/music when the robot is dancing is "Surrender" by Jami Sieber.

[Razzfazz87]

Basing motion on instability also has the side effect that everything is quite slow as you have to wait for the tilt etc. Each time you do something there is a relatively large ramp up time compared with other methods of translation and rotation.

[pinochska]

man an arduino can handle this and the engineering is not really that impressive

[fortissimoX]

0:15

[MsWanderer1]

Another terminator model!

[VincentsBlog]

It belongs to a family of ballbags

[muzzleray]

wish some folks would put there heads together and design a powered wheel chair that's comfortable and cheap, and is everything that someone with those needs is met

[theacematt2]

Yeah.... there's a military use for that person-tracking mode, lol

[BaileysBeads]

@theacematt2 EX-TERMINATE

[TheResidentSkeptic]

They should have had it take a bow at the end by rolling backwards then forwards :)

[seks03]

wheelchairs for the future

[DonkeyCola]

Stick an Azimo on to and BAM!

Welcome to the future...

[OCUBOX]

like these short and cool vids :)

[apocaRUFF]

I hate the retarded 0:15 comments.