Ball-balancing robot and drive assembly therefor

A ball-balancing robot, comprising:

• a ball having a ball surface and a reference axis extending through a centroid of the ball;
• three omniwheel assemblies, each omniwheel assembly comprising a motor having a motor axle and an omniwheel configured to rotate around the motor axle;
• a chassis configured for supporting the three omniwheel assemblies at 120° spacings with the motor axles oriented at an angle a relative to the reference axis and the omniwheels rotated at an angle β to define mutually-orthogonal planes, wherein each omniwheel frictionally contacts the ball surface to convert rotational motion of the motor axle to torque on the ball;
• a frame extending upward from the chassis;
• a control assembly disposed on the frame, the control assembly comprising an electronic controller for selectively and independently activating the omniwheele assemblies;
• and
• a power supply for powering the motors and the control assembly.