Development of a reconfigurable miniature throwable robot for indoor surveillance

This paper presents an innovative mechanical design of a reconfigurable miniature throwable robot. The robot keeps in spherical shape to buffer shock and to protect inner sub-systems in falling, and it transforms to a two-wheeled mobile robot in surveillance via wireless control. Two generations of the robot have been constructed, and details in mechanical design, principle of transformation and a servo-system for adjusting view level of micro-camera are discussed. Experiments are also presented, and effectiveness of the design has been approved.