The robots can balance themselves just like a Segway

Oct 17, 2011 13:54 GMT  ·  By

Segways are undoubtedly cool, but no many of us can afford these gadgets, so thinking about the geek in us a company has developed a sensor that enables LEGO enthusiasts to build Segway-like robots.

The sensor is called an Inertial Motion Unit, IMU for short, and is a combination of An accelerometer and gyroscope into one sensor.

Using this contraption, LEGO enthusiasts can build robots that know which way is up, measure tilt, balance as well acceleration and rotation on all axes simultaneously in order to balance themselves to 'walk' on just two wheels, just like a Segway does.

The IMU sensors were designed by a company called Dexter Industries that even built a LEGO Mindstorms robot to demonstrate their technology.

The sensor is already on sale with a price tag of $65 (about 47 Euros), and until it arrives you can take a look at Dexter Industries' robot to see how well does the IMU actually works in practice. (via UberGizmo)