Alternative Way of Shifting Mass To Move a Spherical Robot

An alternative method of controlled shifting of the center of mass has been proposed as a means of locomotion of a robot that comprises mostly a payload inside a hollow, approximately spherical shell. The method would be applicable to robots that include rigid, semirigid, or flexible inflated shells, including those of the "beach-ball rover" type, variants of which have been described in several previous NASA Tech Briefs articles.