HAGAMOSphere is the trade name of an Innovative Drone that is designed like a ball so that is able to roll on ground and fly in all directions. This spherical drone was shown at CES 2025 at Las Vegas/ Nevada on Jan. 7th. The high-tech exhibition is open till Jan. 10th., 2025 and this is the story of this amazing flier.
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This spherical drone was developed by a fine chemical manufacturer collaborating with a leading university in Japan.
HAGAMOSphere, a spherical drone that can move in any direction without tilting, has been named a CES Innovation Award 2025 Honoree and is unveiled at the CES 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. This unique drone was developed as a collaborative effort between the industry and academia in Japan, a press release said.
In just a few years, drones have rapidly moved from being a military tool to one with several civilian applications. During this time, the concept of a drone has undergone multiple design evolutions as well. One of the characteristics of this new Drone is that it’s attachments can keep the onboard stable while flying have been launched aplenty, but preventing the drone itself from tilting is a massive achievement.
How does HAGAMOSphere do it?
Inside the HAGAMOSphere are eight propellers mounted on a cubic frame. A proprietary algorithm maintains the balance of the drone by controlling the rotation of the eight propellers. This allows it to move forward, backward, left, or right without tilting.
The makers, DIC Group, have taken this ability a step further to develop a specially designed geometrically shaped sphere guard that allows the drone to roll on the ground and move by itself.
Thus, the drone can be deployed in the air or on the ground based on requirement, expanding the application areas where drones can be used.
How was it developed?
The versatility of the design signals that the HAGAMOSphere is a product from a company that specializes in drones. However, DIC Group, Japan’s leading fine chemical developers, backed its development.
The company teamed up with Masashi Miwa, an associate professor at the University of Tokushima, an
institute that works in multicopter research. The prototype was developed by Hishida R&D Co., a firm that specializes in custom drone development, and also carried out field tests of the HAGAMOSphere.
On its part, DIC supported the project by picking the materials for the drone construction, designing structures needed for mass production, and using computer-aided engineering (CAE) to run flight simulations.
Under its “Direct to Society” initiative, DIC works to develop new business opportunities across industries. The HAGAMOSphere is a project under this initiative.
The prototype has been recognized for its outstanding design and engineering and has been named CES Innovation Awards 2025 Honoree, a first for the DIC Group.
“We are delighted to be selected as a CES Innovation Awards 2025 Honoree for the first time as the DIC Group, “added Ikeda.
