Rotundus AB (Sweden) Rotundus GroundBot (1)

Rotundus AB (Sweden) Rotundus GroundBot (2)

Quote onlySold to security customers by quote, with no published price. The rotundus.se site no longer carries current product information, so the robot appears to be out of production (unconfirmed).

Discontinued · unavailableNot programmableSecurity patrolPendulum driveStereo camerasSealed sphere

UnavailableShipping: Not available. No current sales channel could be found.

Remote control: Not possible. It is driven remotely from a handheld unit or follows pre-programmed GPS waypoints through Rotundus's control software.

New Atlas ↗Rotundus company history ↗

Overview

A near-silent spherical patrol robot from Rotundus, a 2004 spin-off of Uppsala University's Ångström Space Technology Centre, where the rolling-ball concept was first studied for planetary exploration. The sealed polycarbonate shell rolls over sand, mud and snow while stereo cameras in the two end domes stream live video to an operator, and it can also patrol autonomously along GPS routes. It won a Popular Science Best of What's New award in 2008 and was pitched for airports, harbors, power plants and borders. The US-built GuardBot explored a similar pendulum-driven sphere.

Specifications

Category	Spherical & rolling · Research & concepts
Released	2004
Country	Sweden
Availability	Discontinued · unavailable
Programmability	No programmability
Best for	Professionals & labs
Vision sensors	Camera
Actuators	Other
Audio	Speaker, Microphone
Compute type	Proprietary / undisclosed
Remote control	Not programmable
Size	60 cm diameter, 25 kg
Locomotion	Sealed rolling sphere, an internal motor lifts a pendulum to shift the center of gravity. Knobby or smooth treads
Compute	Not published
Camera	Two cameras in end domes giving a live 3D feed, optional wide-angle (360°) and infrared night cameras
Sensors	GPS, microphone and loudspeaker, optional gas, radiation, smoke, heat, humidity, explosive and narcotics sensors
Runtime	8–16 hours depending on mission, 3–4 hour recharge
Speed	Up to 10 km/h
SDK	None public