A multi-ball drive for omni-directional mobility

In this paper, the concept of replacing the standard wheel, which is used by most ground vehicles today, by a spherical ball drive system is explored. The aim is to develop a practical and agile omnidirectional mobility platform which can especially be useful for applications related to mobile ground robotics. The paper discusses some of the advantages and drawbacks of using balls instead of wheels and the challenges involved in trying to implement a ball drive system. As a proof-of-concept a functional prototype vehicle that utilizes balls for mobility has been developed and successfully tested. 3D printing technology was utilized in the development of the prototype to fabricate some of the more intricate components of the design. Some of the lessons learned during the design, development, and testing of this prototype as well as some of the solutions implemented to tackle the challenges in developing a working prototype are also discussed. The paper shows that while there are numerous design challenges in developing a mobile platform driven by balls instead of wheels, once these challenges are overcome, the result can be a mobile platform with highly agile maneuvering capabilities. These maneuvering capabilities may especially be useful for simplifying navigation tasks and enhancing the mobility capabilities of mobile ground robots.