Pet Mech — Moulin Noir

The idea is simple - what if any small pet that was suitable for a hamster-ball could control a robot that would place your pet at a height that was more conducive to human interaction and kept it safe from your larger pets, prevented it from getting into the couch etc, and automatically stopped at thresh holds like the open front door?

I have a basic idea for how the control would work: imagine a slender metal rod, about the diameter of a pencil. Now slide a bunch of fat little donuts made of slick plastic over it. Now bend the rod into a circle. Now suspend that circle horizontally flat and place a hamster ball on top of it. Now place a rollerball mouse underneath such that it contacts the rollerball. Now have the rollerball mouse be the control for the movement of the robot.

So, the hamster ball can spin in any direction, and when it does, contact with the rollerball causes the rollerball to move, making the robot go which ever direction the small pet is moving, with a speed based on how fast the pet is moving also. I figure, the body of the robot can be the pet's home, probably docking with a larger home cage/environment while the robot is charging.

But this is just the jumping off point, because there are three things to consider to make this really really cool.

1: I want the small pet to be able to move itself from cage to driver position.
2: I want interaction, in a way that the hamster ball prevents - petting and feeding etc.
3: Rats and hamsters and things don't have good eyesight and need to be able to smell around

SO, I am currently exploring other options, but just for funsies I'll probably use a remote controlled car, a rollerball mouse, and a hamster ball to make a Pet Mech Prototype while I work with other concepts on paper.