Spherical Mobile Robot

Here you can find out more about spherical mobile robots such as research projects, works-in-progress, existing prototypes, possible applications, and commercial spherical robots.

Research Projects

Robot Description	Photo / Video
BYQ Spherical robot, - Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, School of Automation, Beijing, China. Key researchers and scholars: Hanxu Sun Qingxuan Jia Yanheng Zhang Daliang Liu Selected References: Jia, QingXuan, HanXv Sun, and DaLiang Liu. "Analysis of actuation for a spherical robot." In 2008 IEEE Conference on Robotics, Automation and Mechatronics, pp. 266-271. IEEE, 2008. Liu, DaLiang, HanXv Sun, and QingXuan Jia. "Stabilization and path following of a spherical robot." In 2008 IEEE Conference on Robotics, Automation and Mechatronics, pp. 676-682. IEEE, 2008.
Spherical Underwater Robot / Amphibious Spherical Robot / Turtle-Inspired Spherical Mother Robot, - Kagawa University, Faculty of Engineering, Takamatsu, Japan. - Graduate School of Engineering, Kagawa University, Takamatsu, Japan. - Beijing Institute of Technology, Key Laboratory of Convergence Medical Engineering System and Healthcare Technology, and Key Laboratory of Biomimetic Robots and Systems,Beijing, China. - Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin Key Laboratory for Control Theory and Applications in Complicated Systems, Tianjin, China Key researchers and scholars: Jian Guo Shuxiang Guo Shaowu Pan Kun Tang Liwei Shi Chunfeng Yue Yanlin He Maoxun Li Selected References: Lin, Xichuan, and Shuxiang Guo. "Development of a spherical underwater robot equipped with multiple vectored water-jet-based thrusters." Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems 67, no. 3-4 (2012): 307-321. Shi, Liwei, Shuxiang Guo, Shilian Mao, Chunfeng Yue, Maoxun Li, and Kinji Asaka. "Development of an amphibious turtle-inspired spherical mother robot." Journal of Bionic Engineering 10, no. 4 (2013): 446-455. Li, Maoxun, Shuxiang Guo, Hideyuki Hirata, and Hidenori Ishihara. "Design and performance evaluation of an amphibious spherical robot." Robotics and Autonomous Systems 64 (2015): 21-34. He, Yanlin, Shuxiang Guo, Liwei Shi, Shaowu Pan, and Zhe Wang. "3D printing technology-based an amphibious spherical robot." In 2014 IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation, pp. 1382-1387. IEEE, 2014. Bi, Lin, Jian Guo, Shuxiang Guo, and Zhendong Zhong. "Kinematic analysis on land of an amphibious spherical robot system." In 2015 IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation (ICMA), pp. 2082-2087. IEEE, 2015.
Spherical Mobile Robot, - School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Tehran, Iran. Key researchers and scholars: M. Mahjoob H. Vahid Alizadeh M. Roozegar Selected References: H. Vahid Alizadeh, Mohammad J. Mahjoob, "Quadratic Damping Model for a Spherical Mobile Robot Moving on the Free Surface of the Water," IEEE International Symposium on Robotic and Sensors Environments, Montreal, Quebec, 2011, pp. 125-130. (IEEE Xplore) M. Kamaldar, M. J. Mahjoob, M. R. Ha`eri Yazdi, H. Vahid Alizadeh, "Robust Speed Control of a Spherical Robot Using ARX Uncertain Modeling," IEEE International Symposium on Robotic and Sensors Environments, Montreal, Quebec, 2011, pp. 196-201. (IEEE Xplore) M. Kamaldar, M. J. Mahjoob, H. Vahid Alizadeh, "A Control Synthesis for Reducing Lateral Oscillations of a Spherical Robot", IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics, Istanbul, Turkey, 2011, pp. 546-551. (IEEE Xplore) H. Vahid Alizadeh, M. J. Mahjoob, "Effect of Incremental Driving on a Vision-Based Path Planning of a Spherical Robot," IEEE Second International Conference on Computer and Electrical Engineering, Dubai, 2009, Vol. 1, pp. 299-303. (IEEE Xplore)	Ref:[1]
FlexBall, Flexible pendulum-driven ball-shaped robot - Aalto University School of Electrical Engineering, Finland Key researchers and scholars: Tomi J. Ylikorpi Aarne J. Halme Pekka J. Forsman Selected References: Ylikorpi, T.J., Halme, A.J. and Forsman, P.J., "Dynamic modeling and obstacle-crossing capability of flexible pendulum-driven ball-shaped robots." Robotics and Autonomous Systems, Elsevier, 87, pp.269-280, 2017.	Ref: [1]
Four-Pendulum Omnidirectional Spherical Robot, - School of Engineering and Technology, Central Michigan University, United States Key researchers and scholars: Brian P. DeJong Ernur Karadogan Kumar Yelamarthi James Hasbany Selected References: DeJong, B. P., Karadogan, E., Yelamarthi, K., Hasbany, J., "Design and Analysis of a Four-Pendulum Omnidirectional Spherical Robot." Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems, 1-13.	Ref: [1]
BHQ-3 Spherical Robot, - Beihang University, Robotics Institute, Beijing, China. Key researchers and scholars: Qiang Zhan Yao Cai Selected References: Cai, Yao, Qiang Zhan, and Xi Xi. "Path tracking control of a spherical mobile robot." Mechanism and Machine Theory 51 (2012): 58-73. Zhan, Qiang, Yao Cai, and Caixia Yan. "Design, analysis and experiments of an omni-directional spherical robot." In Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2011 IEEE International Conference on, pp. 4921-4926. IEEE, 2011.
HIT Spherical Robot, - Harbin Institute of Technology, State Key Laboratory of Robotics and System, Harbin, China. Key researchers and scholars: Ming Yue Bo Zhao Selected References: Liu, Baoyin, Ming Yue, and Rong Liu. "Motion control of an underactuated spherical robot: A hierarchical sliding-mode approach with disturbance estimation." In 2012 IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation, pp. 1804-1809. IEEE, 2012. Zhao, Bo, Mantian Li, Haitao Yu, Haiyan Hu, and Lining Sun. "Dynamics and motion control of a two pendulums driven spherical robot." In Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), 2010 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on, pp. 147-153. IEEE, 2010. Ming, Yue, Deng Zongquan, Yu Xinyi, and Yu Weizhen. "Introducing HIT spherical robot: dynamic modeling and analysis based on decoupled subsystem." In 2006 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics, pp. 181-186. IEEE, 2006.
Spherical Rolling Robot, - Xidian University, School of Electromechanical Engineering, Xi'an, China Key researchers and scholars: Tuanjie Li Zuowei Wang Zhifei Ji Selected References: Li, T., Wang, Z. and Ji, Z., "Dynamic Modeling and Simulation of the Internal-and External-Driven Spherical Robot." In Journal of Aerospace Engineering, 25(4), pp.636-640, 2011.
Spherobot, - Michigan State University, Department of Mechanical Engineering, East Lansing, United States Key researchers and scholars: Mukherjee, Ranjan Mark A. Minor Filip Tomik Shahin Nudehi Louis L. Flynn Selected References: Tomik, F., Nudehi, S., Flynn, L.L. and Mukherjee, R., "Design, fabrication and control of spherobot: a spherical mobile robot." Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems, 67(2), pp.117-131, 2012. Mukherjee, R. and Minor, M.A., "A simple motion planner for a spherical mobile robot." IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics, pp. 896-901, 1999.
Rollo - Generation 3, - Automation Technology Laboratory, Department of Automation and Systems Technology of the Helsinki University of Technology (TKK) - Department of Automation and Systems Technology of the Aalto University, School of Electrical Engineering Key researchers and scholars: Aarne Halme Selected References: Halme, A., Schonberg, T., & Wang, Y., "Motion control of a spherical mobile robot." IEEE 4th International Workshop on Advanced Motion Control, vol. 1, pp. 259-264, 1996.	from TKK website: http://autsys.aalto.fi/en/Rollo
Spherical robot, Developed at Dynamics and Control Lab, IIT Madras, India. 5-DOF nonholonomic robot, Actuated by internal reaction wheels. Key researchers and scholars: Vijay Muralidharan Selected References: Muralidharan V., Mahindrakar A. D., "Geometric controllability and stabilization of spherical robot dynamics", IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, 60(10), 2762-2767, 2015.
Rosphere, Robotics and Cybernetics Research Group , Universidad Politécnica de Mardrid, Spain Key researchers and scholars: Juan D. Hernández Jorge Barrientos Jaime del Cerro Antonio Barrientos David Sanz Selected References: Hernández, Juan D., Jorge Barrientos, Jaime del Cerro, Antonio Barrientos, and David Sanz. "Moisture measurement in crops using spherical robots." Industrial Robot: An International Journal 40, no. 1, 59-66, 2013.
Omnibola, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Málaga, Málaga, Spain Key researchers and scholars: Mariano Jaimez Juan J. Castillo Francisco García Juan A. Cabrera Selected References: Jaimez, M., Castillo, J. J., García, F., & Cabrera, J. A. "Design and modelling of Omnibola©, a spherical mobile robot" Mechanics based design of structures and machines, 40(4), 383-399, 2012.

Some other cool spherical robots and commercial spherical robots

Robot Description	Photo / Video
Roball, Spherical Robot, - IntRoLab, Universite de Sherbrooke, Canada - Universite de Sherbrooke, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Canada - Bishop's Universite, Department of Computer Science, Sherbrooke, Canada Key researchers and scholars: Michaud, François Thomas Letourneau, Dominic Caron, Serge Salter, Tamie Selected References: Salter, T., Michaud, F., Larouche, H. (2010), "How wild is wild? A taxonomy to categorize the wildness of child-robot interaction," International Journal of Social Robotics, 2(4):405-415. Salter, T., Michaud, F. (2010), "Innovations in robotic devices and autism," book chapter contribution on Pediatric Rehabilitation Engineering: From Disability to Possibility. Salter, T., Michaud, F., Letourneau, D. (2009), "A preliminary investigation into the effects of adaptation in child-robot interaction," Proceedings FIRA International Conference on Social Robotics, August.
Spherical vehicle with flywheel momentum storage, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering Key researchers and developers: Gregory C. Schroll Selected References: Thesis (M.S.)- Colorado State University, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2010. Link) Thesis (B.S.)- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2008. Link)
QueBall, Developed by Que Innovations Company
Sphero, BB-8, and SPRK, Designed and Developed by Sphero Company (previously Orbotix) The BB-8 is a droid character in the 2015 film Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
MorpHex, Designed and developed by Kåre Halvorsen - Zenta Robotic Creations
Imperia Rotundus, Universidad Nacional Experimental Politécnica (UNEXPO), Venezuela Designed and developed by Juan Cols,
Solar-ball Solar-powered spherical robot	Ref
Two spherical robots, named Mowgli and Baloo Designed and developed by Garrett Parrish
GroundBot Designed and developed by Rotundus Company
Ball-Shaped Robot On the base of a Lego Mindstorms NXT. Designed and developed by Nils Völker
Naughty Ball University of California Davis Students Build Robotic Project.

I am a fan of robotics and more specifically spherical mobile robots. I am a PhD student at McGill University. I have designed and built a spherical robot as part of my M.Sc. Project. Below you can see the photos of my spherical mobile robot. It started as a programmable mobile robot. It has since evolved into a mobile robot that performs tasks with a high degree of autonomy. It has wireless communication with a PC and a camera. A vision-based navigation algorithm is developed to automatically control the motion of the robot.

           

Your comments and feedback are most welcome (My email: ).