​Video Overview:
The video narrates that the Ballbot is designed to be a Mobile Robot that balances itself on one spherical wheel. Invented by Ralph Hollis in 2004, this collective project by the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University is a 75 kilogram machine created to be tall, slender and person-sized with mechanical arms. Despite its weight, it can still be easily pushed around and moved with little effort like a push of a finger.
The Ballbot has numerous potential applications in society such as interacting with people and operating in normal home and workplace environments. Michael Shomin explains that it can function in hospitals and elder care facilities by assisting people in a sit-to-stand maneuver. It can help in cooperative carrying by fetching and transporting heavy everyday objects. The balancing robot has various uses in Navigation, such as helping elderly people who rely on holding someone’s elbow for support and stability, and leading visually impaired people in an unfamiliar environment. It can even create maps of a building, and program specific location names to navigate and assist people who need to go to a certain room.