Announcing the Development of MURATAGIRL ('09 Model)

Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. has developed a unicycle-riding robot, MURATAGIRL ('09 model). MURATAGIRL ('09 model) will be demonstrated at the Murata booth during “CEATEC Japan 2009” held at Makuhari Messe, Chiba prefecture between Tuesday, October 6th and Saturday, October 10th.

• Can go around a curve (with a 75cm diameter)
• Can ride over a balance beam (2cm wide)
• Can ride at 15cm/sec (5cm/sec for the '08 model)

• Can come to a stop without falling
• Can go forward or backward
• Can maintain a set distance from the palm (tailgating ride)

1. Slant Detection Gyro Sensors (×2)

   Detects the slant angle. MURATA GIRL maintains her balance by arbitrarily controlling rotation of the wheel for front-to-back direction, and rotation of the fly-wheel built into her chest for side-to-side direction, controlled by signals from the gyro sensor.

2. Gyro Sensor for direction detection (×1) 【NEW】

   Riding direction is detected through signals from the gyro sensor when riding around a curve.

3. Ultrasonic sensor for detecting obstacles (transmitter and receiver are paired)

   Distance to the obstacle is determined by measuring the duration of time between transmission of ultrasonic and reception of ultrasonic bounced back from the obstacle.

4. Bluetooth^® communication module

   Commands and data are communicated with mobile information terminals and PCs over the 2.45GHz band.
   ※Bluetooth^® is a registered trademark of the Bluetooth SIG Inc.

5. General purpose components for electronic circuits

   Several of Murata's general-purpose electronic components including the chip monolithic ceramic capacitor to properly supply electricity, the ceramic resonator CERALOCK^® to resonate the reference signal, the NTC Thermistor to detect temperature, a trimmer potentiometer to adjust characteristics dispersion in circuits, and the EMI suppression filter EMIFIL^®, etc. are used in general electric circuits.

Various types of robots capable of performing such roles as entertainment and security have been created recently for use in our daily lives. These robots incorporate several Murata products, including capacitors that store electricity in electronic circuits, sensors that control motion, and communication modules that exchange information. Since the robotics market is expected to experience strong growth, expansion in the demand for such electronic components is also expected.

For the purpose of introducing our excellent products and technological leadership, we used several Murata components that are geared toward the robotics market in MURATAGIRL and applied the advanced control and circuit design technologies that were nurtured at the foundation of our monozukuri.

In view of Japanese children’s declining interest in science, Murata has been using MURATAGIRL to actively create educational opportunities at schools under the corporate theme of “promoting science education as a part of Murata's CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) activities, to demonstrate to children just how much fun science can be. Our efforts have been especially well received by children and educators.

In order to answer expectations for further advancement, we have developed MURATAGIRL ('09 model) to demonstrate our new technologies.