Remember that Ping Pong robot we showed you this morning? Well, we checked out another of the company's products, and we're scratching our collective heads over the TOSY R-Tyre, "the first radio controlled tire in the world." It says it handles in the same way as the company's R-Ball, which can move forward and backward, left and right. How? It's a tire!
How does it even get rolling on its own — is it segmented so that a piece of it spins, or does it need you to kick it? And turning, how does that happen? In a controlled manner, we mean. Sure, a tire will wobble around if you roll it down a hill, but real steering? To repeat myself, it's a tire! A single, solitary tire.
TOSY is a Vietnamese robotics and toy manufacturer, and there's no word on pricing or shipping for the R-Tyre.
Via TOSY
editor@dvice.com
By djrich at 6:27 PM ON 06/12/08
I'm assuming that the traction is split into 2 sides that can spin independently in different directons (like a segway)...this way it can turn by one side spinning one direction and the other the opposite direction. It could move forward by a mechanism rolling forward or backward inside the tire itself (like a hamster in a wheel or a person running inside a big ball).
By ghosty191 at 1:26 AM ON 06/27/08
I assume it has a weight distribution system, such as a track which internally moves in what ever direction it is ordered, then a gyroscopic system keeps it upright.