BALLU¶
BALLU is a bipedal robot with a balloon body that is safe, never falls, and is interactive. BALLU is an NSF funded project.
UABB¶
The 10th Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture (UABB) (2025 December to 2026 March). The UABB presentation used the fully autonomous installation, enabling a more than 3-month daily exhibition run with minimal operator intervention. The work received the Academic Committee Recommendation Award at UABB.
-

UABB 2025 Exhibition (Dec. 25 - Mar. 26)
- Autonomous installation at the Shenzhen Biennale
-

UABB 2025 Exhibition (Dec. 25 - Mar. 26)
- Photo Credit to TAL + Baiyu
Arts in Robotics (ICRA 25) & Robot Fashion Show¶
Our first exhibition was at ICRA Atlanta 25. The work received the Best Presentation Award at the ICRA Arts in Robotics Exhibition.
-

Exhibition at the ICRA Arts in Robotics Highlight**
-
Exhibition at the ICRA Arts in Robotics
Outreach¶
-

Interactive Demo
- BALLU interacting with kids at an outreach event
- Showing the safety and stability of the balloon body
-

Pokemon Character
-
Technical Details¶
-

BALLU Hardware
- Balloon body, one actuator per leg
-

Custom Electronics
- Modular PCB design for decentralized control
-

CAD Rendering
- Fans create invisible walls for BALLU
Paper¶
- Also see our MAGPIE force sensing paper.