The robot balloon will conduct reconnaissance in any remote area.

The staff of Izhevsk State Technical University named after M.T. Kalashnikov has created the first prototype of a sphere robot in our country, which uses a combined principle for movement. The device is made for intelligence purposes. It can move on almost any surface, including water. It is a compact drone equipped with a camera.

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The cost of its production is about 3-5 thousand rubles. The robot can be controlled like a drone, or it can be programmed to perform a task on its own. The developers experimented with different ways to set the ball in motion, identified the most effective ones and combined them into one hybrid device.

"The design of the combined spherical robot that we have obtained is very simple and easy to control. Its technical characteristics will depend on the specific tasks that we will be assigned. We can make remote controls for the required distance, change the maneuverability, size, weight, degree of autonomy. The payload is placed inside the sphere, and its mass is used to propel the robot. The prototype we are testing has a mass of 200-300 grams and a diameter of 12 cm. It can carry similar equipment in weight and move at speeds up to 1m/s," Yuri Karavaev, professor of the Department of Mechatronic Systems at Izhevsk State Technical University named after M.T. Kalashnikov, told Izvestia.

The design of the larger version of the robot will allow it to carry a payload of greater mass than its own.

Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:

Attention to the sphere: the robot balloon will conduct reconnaissance in any remote area