Spherical 3-D Mercury Switch

[AaronBurns]

A switch that can give any device an instant (automatic) equilibrium. Every spot inside the sphere has a different touch point much like the old mercury switches that regulated heating systems, but this one has thousands instead of two contact points making and giving it a total 3 dimensional capability. If it were in the head of a robot the robot would then know exactly where it was. It would know left, right, tipping, forwards, backwards, and upside down. All directions. Then it could constantly adjust itself and compensate to keep up right and mobile. This switch could be used in heavy equipment or in other technologies. Almost any device or equipment that needed to stay stable and up right would have that exact ability with this switch. It could be used in large or small toys like a moving flight simulator you see at the mall or a gyroscope.

Reward: Credit

[Steve]

A switch that can give any device an instant (Robot like) equilibrium.

Sorry but I don't understand this one. Also, I'm not familiar with Mercury Switches.

[AaronBurns]

It is actually not much more than an average on/off switch when it is in a two sided switch form since a small ball of liquid mercury slides from one end to another due to temp changes or movement and turns something on or off.
If you have a 3 dimensional version of a mercury switch then you have a tiny drop of mercury and hundreds of contact points in a sphear form and that tells a simple computer chip which contacts are being touched and that then tells the computerized switch where it is at in all directions where ever it goes.
There has been alot of studies in colleges on types of equalibriums and mine is too simple for a robot but, would work with other machinery. Who knows; it might even work on robots too!!!!
Basically a better, cheaper, easy to make switch that could easily be incorporated into anything including a computer.

[waynedcam]

Aaron,

This is a good idea. The only problem I see is the size of the sphere. The larger the sphere the higher the latency. It will take longer for the the mercery to travel 180 degrees the larger the sphere is. A good way to resolve this would be to use many tiny 2D on/off tubes oriented in such a way as to give 360 degrees of coverage along all axes. Basicially the same as a sphere but much faster. I think this has been done.

WC

[AaronBurns]

You are correct.
You could easily adapt this idea to any type of contact points in any shape as long as the ratio of contact and orientation aspect is concevably as short as possible within the bounds of necessity.
Also, if any gravity controlled switch is used it needs to be a switch with the capacity to be much faster than mercury any way so we can use any conductive materials that are liquid, thinner, any shaped contact points, and any type of on off switch which would easily be converted for maximum capacity when used within the parameters of the simpliest on/off switch (A Computer Bit 1 or 0).
Any advancements would be to to take a bite of eight bits of ones and zeros in Bolean Logic and advance that kind of technology from it's tiniest established units (Used from the beginnings of vacuum tubes) and utilize the definition of on/off 1/0 and see that this method be used as the fastest way to recieve a result from the positive and negative currents within any coputerized component or device using orientation hardware.
Basically, what I would say is that the simpler we make the switch the faster it runs and redesigning it to do so might beat the recent version and purpose of, say, to create a robot that doesn't need weight or counter balance since it's core directive device tells it instantly it's oriented 360 degree position which is a faster more life like robot.
This could be used in any 360 degree rotating automated machine.

[Rishi]

3D position sensors of various accuracies are already in routine use in the machine tool industry, aerospace, and defence.

If miniaturization is the aim, you can consider photo etching contact pair points all over the outer surface of a spherical semiconductor substrate (It is easier to etch the external surface). There can be millions of these pairs by UV laser etching even on a tiny sphere. This sphere can be located inside another hollow sphere having the mercury drop.

There will probably be a blind spot where the signal is taken out, rather like the blind spot in the eye, where the optic nerve leaves the retina.

rishi

[gracken]

i love this idea, i guess you could alternate the comtacts in a grid like pattern like way PROMs were made with one contact receiving a voltage and the contacts imidiately next to it being grounded to the battery
the way i see it the drop of mercury would always pool at the bottom of the sphere but this wouldn't really tell you which direction in space you were facing just which part of you was facing up
here is a thought, would it be better if there was a sphere inside the sphere with the mercury being in between so as that the mercury could still roll would not be like jerking around in there?
what do you guys think?

[ABBG]

I don't understand what modicication Gracken is suggesting. Also with gravity "controlling" it the mercury will be always run to the same spot which will enable the installer to chose where will be "the opposite top" on the device.