Most self-balancing robots use some sort of circuitry like gyroscopes or accelerometers to keep them upright. Some bots however, can achieve nearly the same effect by far less complicated means.
Meet the Domo Kun wobbly bot, created by [Chein]. The robot is essentially a pendulum, where the pivot point is even with the wheel axle. The base of the robot is loaded with batteries, motors, and weights, all of which keep the robot relatively steady while zooming about the room. A light balsa wood frame was fitted to the top of the metal chassis, and a thin cardboard Domo Kun shell was mounted on top of that. The robot is driven using the remote control circuitry that he stripped from a toy car. He also mentions that the positioning of the batteries and weights is key to getting the robot to balance and roll properly – something that took several attempts to get just right.
Now if he could only program it to autonomously chase kittens…
Be sure to check out the pair of videos we have below of the robot chassis in testing as well as the final product.