If you told me yesterday that today there would be a robot that balances on a single ball and can locomote itself around the room on said ball, I’d say you were a crazy person. Well, you’re not a crazy person. Bossa Nova Robotics, makers of the Penbo line of robotic toys, has just launched the mObi [sic], a robot that “is based on technology that allows the robot to balance on a ball and move seamlessly with a single point of contact on the ground, enabling natural omni-directional movement, slender design profiles and superior navigation in human environments.”
The robot, shown here, balances on a single ball. Bossa Nova worked with engineers at Carnegie Mellon University to get this girl rolling and apparently it will be available as a research platform first and then as an actual product in around 2013.
We’re trying to get a bit more information, but until then just imagine how fun it would be to treat this robot like a self-righting punching bag clown and then, when it got angry enough, it would lash out with razor-sharp claws.