This is a list of machines that can perform physical juggling patterns.
Similar to human jugglers, some machines are good at throwing, and some are good at catching. In most cases, the machine is a juggling automaton, which is designed to consistently throw accurately enough that it can maintain a juggling pattern with no sensory feedback. These machines will blindly go through the motions of juggling with unvarying predetermined movements, whether the balls are actually there or not. There are also a few more complex juggling robots which do use cameras, enabling them to make catches even if the throws aren't so accurate.
Bounce juggling automatons[]
The machines listed in this section all have two cups for hands, and no cameras.
| Created by | Number of balls juggled | Notes | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Shannon | 3 | The first juggling machine was made with an Erector Set in the 1970s, and was designed to resemble W. C. Fields. | Video |
| Stefan Schaal and Chris Atkeson | 5 | Video | |
| Human Movement Simulation Lab at the University of Stuttgart | 3 | Video | |
| Jimmy Demello | 3 | This machine bounces balls on a solid, flat surface. Previous bounce juggling machines used a drumhead to bounce on, which may make it easier than normal to get the balls to go where they're supposed to. | Video |
Roll juggling automatons[]
The machines listed in this section juggle by rolling balls up a sloped surface, without using cameras.
| Created by | Number of arms | Number of balls juggled | Hand type | Notes | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nathan Peterson | 2 | 7 | Cups, with electromagnets to hold onto the balls | This machine was made with 3D-printed parts. It can roll balls on an inclined surface in different patterns, including siteswaps. | 4 ball sync video
|
| Nadar Ponsudhan | 2 | 3 | Grooved tracks to guide the motion of the balls, and paddles to launch them uphill | This one uses sensors to trigger a throw whenever an incoming ball rolls past a sensor. Juggles in a reverse cascade. | Video |
| Stephen Meschke | 2 | 5 | "2-dimensional cups" | Video | |
| Shun Onozawa | 8 | 16 | Grooved tracks to guide the motion of the balls, and pushing mechanisms to launch them uphill | A computer controls the timing to prevent collisions that might otherwise result from slight asymmetries and differences between the parts of the machine. | Video |
Toss juggling automatons with two arms[]
The machines listed in this section all juggle three balls with two cup-hands, without using cameras.
| Created by | Notes | Links |
|---|---|---|
| Sarcos | "Sarcoman" can also do devil sticks, balance a pole, and bounce a ball on a paddle. This robot can use visual feedback for catching, and possibly also copy the real-time motion-captured movements of a human, but it doesn't appear to use those abilities when juggling. | Video |
| ? | Video | |
| Ernie Palarca | Juggles in a reverse cascade | Video |
| ? | Video | |
| Matthew Carlsen | Instead of moving arms, this machine has launching mechanisms inside the cups. The arms are different lengths to prevent collisions. | Video |
| Stephen Meschke | Video | |
| Kai Ploeger, Michael Lutter, and Jan Peters | Uses machine learning instead of being manually designed to throw accurately. The machine is initially told whether each juggling attempt is successful or unsuccessful. Then once it's learned to make accurate throws, it can juggle with no feedback of any kind. | Video |
| Drew Aslesen | Video |
Toss juggling automatons with a different number of arms[]
The machines listed in this section all have cups for hands, and no cameras.
| Created by | Number of arms | Number of balls juggled | Notes | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kai Ploeger, Michael Lutter, and Jan Peters | 1 | 2 | Uses machine learning to learn to throw accurately. Juggles in columns. | Video |
| Stephen Meschke | 1 | 2 | Video | |
| Stephen Meschke | 4 | 5 | Juggles in a cascade-shaped domino pattern | Video |
| Harrison Low | 1 | 2 | Juggles in columns. | Video |
Toss juggling robots[]
The machines listed in this section all use cameras to track the balls in the air and adjust their hand position.
| Created by | Number of arms | Number of balls juggled | Hand type | Notes | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Designed by Martin Bühler, built by Daniel Koditschek and Alfred Rizzi | 1 | 2 | Paddle | Called the "Buehgler". Uses two cameras for stereo-vision. | Video |
| T. Sakaguchi, S. Sato, and F. Miyazaki | 1 | 2 | Cup | Uses one camera | Article |
| Students at the Czech Technical University in Prague | 2 | 5 | Cups | A spring-loaded third arm is used to add a ball to the pattern when starting and when the machine drops. | Video |
| Paul Kulchenko | 1 | 2 | Paddle | Uses seven cameras | Video |
| Takahiro Kizaki and Akio Namiki | 1 | 2 | 3-fingered hand
|
Uses two external cameras | Video |
| Disney Research | Uses 1 arm to juggle | Passes 3 balls in a 2-handed shared cascade with a human partner | 5-fingered hand | Uses external cameras | Video |
| Akira Takahashi, Naohiro Komura, and Akio Namiki | 2 | 3 | 3-fingered hands | Uses stereo-vision | Video |
| University of Shanghai for Science and Technology | 2 | 3 | Cups | Can also do some rudimentary passing with a human | Video |
See also[]
- Juggling animator (machines doing virtual juggling patterns)
- Robot (trick)