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HEXBUG

Research & Design Intern  

Summer 2016, 2017

I developed various product concepts into playable prototype robot toys. My process generally started with a low-fidelity mockup built from spare parts to establish feasibility, followed by increasingly refined 3D-printed prototypes. I developed one of my own concepts into the HEXBUG Robotic Soccer product line, which was sold at major retailers and rated as a Top Holiday Toy in 2018 by The Toy Insider magazine.

HEXBUG Robotic Sports


One of my concepts was a series of remote controlled sports robots. I used some old production samples of the BattleBots line to save time designing a chassis and began making attachments for a variety of games.


American Football Prototype

I designed a method for the robot to control a ball while still leaving it vulnerable to being stolen away by the other player. I taped magnets to each robot and glued a ring of spring steel inside a plastic ball, creating a game reminiscent of rugby or American football.

  • Rapid prototypes confirmed the gameplay concept within a single day

  • Highly reliable magnetic ball control design prevents frustration

HEXBUG Robotic Soccer

I experimented with various ways to kick the ball while holding it with a separate magnet, but I had the best results putting the magnet directly in the kicker and essentially catapulting the ball. This proved to be very engaging to play and quickly I was coordinating with a team of industrial designers and artists to prepare final designs of the robot, playing field, and packaging to be sent to our manufacturer in China. HEXBUG Robotic Soccer was sold at major retailers and was rated as a Top Holiday Toy in 2018 by The Toy Insider magazine.

  • Highly refined kicking mechanism

  • Fun, competitive, and highly interactive gameplay

  • The Toy Insider magazine 2018 Top Holiday Toy


Basketball Prototype

I built many iterations of flywheel shooters as well as mechanisms for collecting missed shots from the floor. To keep BOM costs down I designed a gearbox that used the drivetrain motors to drive a roller-style ball pickup, such that the pickup roller always rotates in the intake direction, even when driving in reverse.

  • Refined and consistent long-range ball launcher

  • Motor-saving design using drivetrain to power ball pickup

  • Reliable ball pickup, including up against walls and when driving in reverse

Component 4

This is a description of Project 1 Component 4 and my involvement in the process.

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This is a description of Project 1 Component 5 and my involvement in the process.

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Component 6

This is a description of Project 1 Component 6 and my involvement in the process.

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Component 7

This is a description of Project 1 Component 7 and my involvement in the process.

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Component 8

This is a description of Project 1 Component 8 and my involvement in the process.

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Pillbug Prototype


I designed a “pillbug” concept that could drive around via remote control and roll itself into a ball on command.


Roll-up Mechanism

I experimented with a variety of locomotion methods and designed roll-up mechanism prototypes to be compatible. 3D printing enabled me to quickly test new ideas and gradually refine my solutions.

  • Rapidly iterated roll-up mechanism

  • Highly adaptable design, shown to be compatible with a wide variety of movement systems


Component 2

This is a description of Project 2 Component 2 and my involvement in the process.

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Component 3

This is a description of Project 2 Component 3 and my involvement in the process.

  • Rich Content Feature 1 - here is a long-winded description to see how this thing handles length.

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Component 4

This is a description of Project 2 Component 4 and my involvement in the process.

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Component 5

This is a description of Project 2 Component 5 and my involvement in the process.

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Component 6

This is a description of Project 2 Component 6 and my involvement in the process.

  • Rich Content Feature 1 - here is a long-winded description to see how this thing handles length.

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Component 7

This is a description of Project 2 Component 7 and my involvement in the process.

  • Rich Content Feature 1 - here is a long-winded description to see how this thing handles length.

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Component 8

This is a description of Project 2 Component 8 and my involvement in the process.

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Ball Balancing Robot Prototype


In response to a popular VEX IQ community design for a 2-wheeled balancing robot, I explored the feasibility of a robot balancing on top of a ball using a similar control system with an additional axis.


Ball Balancing Controls

I constructed a simple test platform and began implementing PID balancing controls for a 2-axis inverted pendulum, using only components from the VEX IQ product lineup.

  • PID balancing controls in C

  • Datalogger and PID tuning utility using Python

  • Highly constrained motor and sensor capability

Component 2

This is a description of Project 3 Component 2 and my involvement in the process.

  • Rich Content Feature 1 - here is a long-winded description to see how this thing handles length.

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Component 3

This is a description of Project 3 Component 3 and my involvement in the process.

  • Rich Content Feature 1 - here is a long-winded description to see how this thing handles length.

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Component 4

This is a description of Project 3 Component 4 and my involvement in the process.

  • Rich Content Feature 1 - here is a long-winded description to see how this thing handles length.

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Component 5

This is a description of Project 3 Component 5 and my involvement in the process.

  • Rich Content Feature 1 - here is a long-winded description to see how this thing handles length.

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Component 6

This is a description of Project 3 Component 6 and my involvement in the process.

  • Rich Content Feature 1 - here is a long-winded description to see how this thing handles length.

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Component 7

This is a description of Project 3 Component 7 and my involvement in the process.

  • Rich Content Feature 1 - here is a long-winded description to see how this thing handles length.

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Component 8

This is a description of Project 3 Component 8 and my involvement in the process.

  • Rich Content Feature 1 - here is a long-winded description to see how this thing handles length.

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© 2026 by Paul Richardson

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