LEGO Rolling Robot – PALLA

How to make a LEGO rolling robot

PALLA is a LEGO Power Functions remote controlled contraption with amazing obstacle-disentangling capabilities. “PALLA” is the Italian word for “ball”, and it’s an acronym that stands for Pet-Annoying Loud Likely-Awesome contraption. I call it a rolling robot, but it’s just a remote controlled contraption . Having just one motor, its behavior is quite random, so driving it requires a little practice. It’s incredibly funny, and despite its name, it’s pet friendly. Check the video!

PALLA version 2

I reworked my original LEGO rolling robot to make it roll smoother and fully controllable. I redesigned the core of the robot so that now you can steer it precisely using two LEGO Power Functions Motors. Click the button below to download the building instructions.

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Building a LEGO Technic sphere

The structure is built with a truckload of LEGO Technic #3 Axle Connectors, which are bent at a 22.5 angle. This means that you need 16 of them to build a complete 2D circle. By combining several sections of a circle, you can get a quasi-spherical structure which is pretty sturdy. The rolling robot moves by shifting the center of mass of the inner part. The main weight is in the LEGO Power Functions Battery pack, while the rest of the mechanism is light, and balanced around the pivot.