The ball is actually a very small quad-copter with a spherical cage around it that lets you throw it like a ball.

On board sensors and calculators project the trajectory from the force and angle of your throw and then fly that path at a much slower speed than it would have traveled at if it were a regular ball.

Additional settings could be "Zig-Zag", "Corkscrew", "Frame- By-Frame" (where it flies a few feet, stops, flies a few feet, stops...)

You could also make it go faster.
-- doctorremulac3, Jul 24 2015

You could achieve this... http://www.uta.edu/...lection/101018.html
This Idea reminds me of a story I read lots of years ago. I'm fairly sure the "double curve" in the story is not actually possible --but with ball-shaped slow drone, you could do it easily. [Vernon, Jul 25 2015]

And if you doubt the technical ability of these things to do the job... https://www.youtube...watch?v=3CR5y8qZf0Y
...don't. [doctorremulac3, Jul 25 2015]

And by the way, all quad copters need to be in spherical cages anyway. https://www.youtube...watch?v=5B3X6EvZ2XM
Simply to increase their fly-ability in the real world. [doctorremulac3, Jul 25 2015]

With a geodesic cage (I think that's what you'd call it) these things can go anywhere. https://www.youtube...watch?v=DUGEjQdoylY
[doctorremulac3, Jul 25 2015]

Bullet Time https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullet_time
[theircompetitor, Jul 25 2015]

Initial velocity may be a problem with a kid with a strong arm. The size of the ball would dedicate the power of the quad-copter. Nice though.
-- wjt, Jul 25 2015


Yea, the first thing the ball would do would put all 4 motors into full braking mode to slow the thing down.

Ya know, another way to do this might be just to have air resistance handle the slow down task. Have a kid's balloon with a steerable ducted fan running down the center with a little CPU on board that does the navigation. As anybody who's thrown a balloon knows it basically stops in mid air as soon as it leaves your hand.

I like the quadcopter solution better though. There are very few challenges in life that can't be solved by computer controlled micro aircraft.
-- doctorremulac3, Jul 25 2015


Totally. By the way, please see the link showing how clever these things are getting.
-- doctorremulac3, Jul 25 2015



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