Cubli – A cube that can jump up, balance, and walk across your desk (2013)
robohub.org
robohub.org
Pretty cool. Kind of funny that they have all the parts for a gyroscope inside of the cube, but are basically using the exact opposite method for balancing.
The overshooting of the balance point isn't intentional, but a byproduct of the "learning control" employed to improve the jump. Brake residue alters the stopping ability of the brakes (and thus the duration of the energy transfer into the cube's body), and a slightly offset center of mass affects the location of the balance point. In successive attempts at jumping up the energy of the wheels is altered to compensate for these effects, if it undershoots once, likely it will overshoot the next time as it "hones in" on the correct settings. Once the jump is close enough to the balance point, the control switches from open-loop "jump" into closed-loop "balance" to stabilize the cube around the balance point.
The wheels are actively controlled by the motors, so it's not gravity that is slowing the wheels down, rather the moment that is required to stabilize the cube's body. There is also friction in the system, so some energy is always lost and thus the wheel rotational rates will tend to zero around the balance point.
... it's a university research gadget, I don't think they ever tried to make it a product?