The Gigapan Epic is the little robot that’s enabled me to take pictures on a scale that’s simply nuts, but I’ve been disappointed with the battery performance.  I think this stems from the fact that the device uses voltage as a proxy for capacity and in that I use rechargeable batteries, I max out at 7.2 volts rather than the proper 9.  My solution was to mount two four-cell battery packs giving me a more reasonable 9.6 volts off of the 1.2 volt rechargeable batteries.  The device was finished at around 9 PM and I showed my housemates my accomplishment.

Tenant: Did you do that on purpose?
Me: Do what?
Tenant: Us two 4-up battery holders spread across the bottom.
Me: I needed the split so the batteries wouldn’t get in the way of the camera.
Tenant: It looks like your thing has balls.

Proving that in all devices, balls are really the source of power.