What happens when technology for movement and health does not start with a large device, but with something almost everyone understands: a ball?

Fizzy is a soft robotic ball that can roll and respond on its own. The ball invites people to move, without needing much explanation. This makes Fizzy interesting for research into physical activity, motivation and interaction. How do people respond to a ball that takes initiative? Could such a ball help older adults move a little more? And could it eventually give healthcare professionals an additional way to stimulate movement or engagement?

Fizzy is part of the Convergence Human Mobility Center Flagship. Within this Flagship, researchers, clinicians, designers and technology developers from TU Delft, Erasmus MC, Erasmus University Rotterdam and rehabilitation partners such as Rijndam work together on accessible, user-friendly and affordable rehabilitation technology. technology.

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Why a robotic ball?

A ball almost automatically invites interaction. You roll it back, stop it, follow it with your eyes or try to catch it. Fizzy builds on this natural response, but adds something new: the ball can move and respond by itself.

Fizzy is not a traditional rehabilitation robot, nor is it a technology that is already routinely used in healthcare. The project is currently in a research and development phase. At this stage, its value lies mainly in exploration: what happens when a soft, self-moving object invites people to move in a natural way?

That question is relevant to the Convergence Human Mobility Center. Many rehabilitation and care pathways require repetition, motivation and movement beyond fixed therapy moments. This is where low-threshold technology may be able to add something, provided it is safe, understandable and usable for the people working with it.

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Focus on older adults and geriatric care

An important direction within Fizzy is research into possible applications for older adults and geriatric care. Together with older adults, healthcare professionals and design experts, researchers are exploring where a robotic ball could be of value.

In geriatric rehabilitation, Fizzy may help make exercises less monotonous. At home, in a hospital or in a specialised care centre, the ball could gently invite people to move more between supervised sessions. Researchers are also exploring whether movement data could eventually help track progress or give healthcare professionals more insight into how someone moves.

Possible applications for older adults are also being explored beyond rehabilitation settings. In adult day-care or group activities, Fizzy might contribute to social contact, attention and light movement. For example, people could respond to the ball together, follow it or take part in a simple activity around it. Whether this actually works, and under which conditions, still needs to be investigated further.

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From play ball to research platform

Fizzy has been developed as a low-cost and open-source robotic ball with a soft outer shell. The ball is lightweight, affordable and deliberately kept simple. Inside, it has a single motor. This means Fizzy cannot simply move in every direction, but that is exactly what makes it interesting to explore how limited technology can still create smart behaviour.

The current version contains sensors to measure movement and software that allows the ball to respond to interaction. Researchers are now further developing the way Fizzy moves, responds and can be controlled. Because Fizzy is being developed as open source, other researchers, students and institutions can also work with it. This makes the ball not only a possible future application, but also a platform for learning, testing and further development.

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From technology to care context

Fizzy shows why collaboration between different disciplines is needed. TU Delft brings expertise in robotics, design and human-robot interaction. Erasmus MC and partners from healthcare help connect the project to health and rehabilitation research. Erasmus University Rotterdam contributes to questions around use, behaviour and adoption.

Fizzy is also being developed in collaboration with the Institute of Automatic Control at RWTH Aachen University. This collaboration has contributed to the technical development, the open-source approach and the visibility of the project.

It is precisely this combination of disciplines that makes it possible to look at Fizzy not only as a technical object, but as a possible intervention in a real care or living environment. The central question is not only: can the ball move? But above all: for whom is this valuable, under which conditions, and how can such a simple technology be developed safely and accessibly?
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Researchers

Bart Horstman is a researcher involved in Fizzy and other projects within the Convergence Human Mobility Center. He has a background in mechanical engineering and focuses on rehabilitation robotics and preventive healthcare. In his work, he explores how affordable technology can eventually come closer to users: at home, in the clinic or in educational and research settings. Contact: b.horstman@tudelft.nl

Eda Karaosmanoğlu is also closely involved in Fizzy. She is conducting her PhD research with the robotic ball and investigates how Fizzy can contribute to physical activity and engagement in different situations.
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Learn more

Fizzy is part of the Convergence Human Mobility Center Flagship. Read more about the Convergence Human Mobility Center Flagship. 

More technical information about Fizzy, the open-source approach, publications and build documentation can be found on the Fizzy-ball-website and the project page of RWTH Aachen University.
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Publications & Research Activities