# willem-pennings/balancing-cube

A cube that balances itself in a corner or edge using reaction wheels

Repository: https://github.com/willem-pennings/balancing-cube
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/balancing-cube
Language: C++
License: GPL-3.0
License Family: copyleft
Topics: robotics
Last push: 2024-06-22T19:52:42+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 25/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 35, longevity 66
- inputs: {"age_days": 935, "days_push": 802, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1064, forks 105 (observed 2026-08-28T04:03:26.607881+00:00)

## What it is
A complete open-source hardware and software project for a self-balancing cube that stands on its corner or edge using three reaction wheels. It includes mechanical CAD designs, PCB schematics, firmware, and documentation needed to build your own.

## Use cases
- build a self-balancing cube with reaction wheels
- learn how reaction wheel balancing works
- study control systems for inverted pendulum-like robots
- get PCB and mechanical designs for a robotics project
- replicate a hobby robotics build with ESP32 and Maxon motors

## When to choose
- you want a complete, documented open-hardware robotics project to build yourself
- you are learning about reaction wheel control and balance
- you need reference designs for ESP32-based motor control

## When to avoid
- you need a production-ready or commercially supported product
- you want a software-only simulation without building hardware
- you need safety-certified designs for spinning flywheels

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: stable
- function: robotics, embedded, simulation
- domain: robotics, hardware, embedded-systems
- platform: embedded, cross-platform
- tags: reaction-wheels, balancing-robot, esp32, arduino, kicad, fusion-360, hardware-design, open-hardware, control-systems, diy-project

## Member repositories
- willem-pennings/balancing-cube (main) score 25

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:26.607881+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T06:56:07.108805+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/willem-pennings/balancing-cube (fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:26.607881+00:00, sha 0dd02231b8f6)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.