Autonomous Unicycle

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Challenge: Dr. David Vos studied control theory at MIT in the early 90s. While there, he learned that a rival aeronautics engineering team at Stanford University could not make a unicycle robot operate autonomously. Vos, in an informal friendly competition, set out to make the unicycle move and navigate without a rider.

Solution: As part of his Doctoral thesis, Vos quickly demonstrated a mathematical design process that produces rapid, efficient, robust control gains while requiring only a few design points across the entire operating envelope, regardless of the underlying vehicle stability. Typically, the traditional process of "tweaking the knobs" to control an unstable vehicle could take months and even years to perfect.

Result: Vos was able to demonstrate that his control technology and design process could enable the unicycle robot to autonomously move and navigate. He earned his Ph.D. in Dynamics and Control and was able to beat Stanford while he was at it. This technology became the genesis of our Athena flight control technology.