The Project

The VT-BB1

The idea for this project is to create a replica of the BB-8 droid from Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Using an Arduino Mega 2560 as the brains behind the motor function, a 3 wheeled chassis goes inside a ball to control its rolling.  The chassis has a stepper motor connected to a vertical shaft which is mounted on bearings and is controlled via an Arduino Uno.  The head is held to the vertical shaft using magnets on both sides of the ball and casters to allow the head to roll along with the ball without falling off.  The mass of the lower chassis had to be great enough to support the mass of the head and balance itself as the ball rolled.  With the inertia of the chassis and head together, the ball needed roll at a relatively slow pace to keep everything in tact, especially when starting and stopping.  To accomplish object avoidance while in a roaming mode, an ultrasonic rangefinder connected to a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B is employed.  The rangefinder is mounted on a servo motor, so that it can continuously sweep a 30-degree field in front of it.  Speed may come with a VT-BB2 model, but for now, making Vermont Technical College's first ball droid prototype will have to do.