Arduino ball balancing robot – Update #0

Being recently awed by the idea of a robot that can balance on a ball, I want to attempt to create this type of robot with an arduino.

Here are a few links & videos that I might be referencing/using for inspiration while building this robot:

• http://asimo.honda.com/news/the-u3-x-challenge-mobility-that-unites-rider-and-vehicle/newsarticle_0091/
• http://hacknmod.com/hack/incredible-robot-balances-perfectly-on-a-ball/
• http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-Ball-Balancing-Robot/?ALLSTEPS
• http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/robotics-software/042910-a-robot-that-balances-on-a-ball

Here are some of the details of the potential bot: The type of ball the robot will most likely balance on would be either a soccer ball (radius: 11cm) or a basketball (radius: 12.13cm), and its body would be 3D printed to hold the parts together.

The robot would most likely consist of:

– 3 Omni wheels

– 3 Motors (Maybe brushless)

– 3D printed body

– Arduino Microcontroller

– Accelerometer & Gyroscope sensor (Most likely be using MPU6050)

– Li-poly battery

With all this little details stated to get started, I’ll start to design the robot soon. Stay tune for the next update. That’s all for this post.

(P.S. I have created a Github repository on this project. You can check it out here.)

[Update: I currently am quite busy with my school stuff, so I have pushed back this project till a later date to work on. ]

To-Do list:

• Write out Main idea
• Design the robot
  • Sketch
  • Computer (SketchUp)
• Write out Part list
• Purchase components (sensors, wheels, etc.)
• Test out components
• 3D print main body & parts
• Mount components onto body
• Code the bot
• Run it!