All, Personal, Projects

Omnidirectional Robotic Hamster Ball

A dwarf-hamster ball using sliding weights, servos, gyros, accelerometers, a compass, and an Arduino microcontroller to roll the ball around. It uses a unique propulsion mechanism such that there is no rotational axis, it can go in any direction at any time.

Won Blue Ribbon at Maker Faire Bay Area 2012 (Maker Faire Editor’s Choice Ribbons)

Video interview at Maker Camp: video (8:44)

The Omnidirectional Hamster Ball
The Omnidirectional Hamster Ball
Microcontroller: Arduino Pro Mini
Microcontroller: Arduino Pro Mini
Actuators: Servos slide weights along the three axes.
Actuators: Servos slide weights along the three axes.
Internal view showing accelerometer/gyroscope (left), Bluetooth and Arduino microcontroller (right)
Internal view showing accelerometer/gyroscope (left), Bluetooth and Arduino microcontroller (right)
Block Diagram
Block Diagram
Mechanical Diagram
Mechanical Diagram