An Amazing Ball-Wheeled Omnidirectional Vehicle

Electronics master James Bruton, who previously built a walking wheel with feet, took his idea further with an amazing omnidirectional vehicle that uses balls instead of wheels in order to propel it in motion. Bruton stated that he was inspired by research about using balls as wheels and decided to make a three-part series about this unique concept.

The original concept for this wheel was based on a project from Osaka University. …The wheel is split into two hemispheres which can rotate freely and independently, this allows the wheel to be driven actively in one axis and passively in the other. …What about, instead of wheels, we make a vehicle which uses balls, and we make it big enough to ride on?

Once completed, Breton tested his brand-new vehicle at EMF Camp 2022 in Eastnor, England.




Here’s Breton’s first video of the series.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.