Using learnings from Roboball I, the next generation in the Roboball family, Roboball II, is in development. Inheriting its pendulum driven propulsion from Roboball I, Roboball II boasts a substantial increase in size and capability with its 6ft diameter outer shell. While Roboball I serves as a testbed for controls research, Roboball II is designed for practical use and application. Equipped with a 6ft payload bay inside the drive axle, Roboball II is capable of all the mobility of Roboball I, while being able to carry and deploy 16U (1U = 10cm x 10cm x 10cm) in payload. Potential applications include island hopping in contested seas, collection and return of samples from the depths of previously inaccessible lunar craters, and further exploration in hazardous, extraterrestrial terrain.
Roboball II’s increase in size brings its own set of challenges. As the latest generation in Roboball, Roboball II has a completed pendulum, with pending work including design of the soft outer shell and adaption of control algorithms from Roboball I. Roboball II represents the cutting edge of soft robots and rovers, as well as the evolution of robots within RAD Lab.