SUMMARY:
UCLA researchers in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering have developed an active omnidirectional wheel with a transmission design that simultaneously actuates all rollers.
BACKGROUND:
Omnidirectional wheels are wheels with small, passive rollers around the circumference, perpendicular to the spinning direction. This allows the wheel to be driven with full force longitudinally, but also to slide laterally. These wheels are widely used in holonomic drive systems. To move the cargo in certain direction using such systems, multiple omniwheels must synchronize, while the rollers on the wheels cannot be actuated directly. As a result, one of the main design challenges is how to actuate the small rollers, and another is how to transmit power between adjacent unparallel rollers.
INNOVATION:
UCLA researchers in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering have developed an active omnidirectional wheel that overcomes the design challenges these devices present. The UCLA design incorporates a novel transmission that simultaneously actuates all the rollers on a single wheel. This design provides two degrees of freedom to a single wheel, allowing it to move in any linear direction, whereas others designs require a combination of wheels to achieve similar movements.
POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS:
- Robots
- Vehicles
- Loading docks and other surfaces for goods movement
ADVANTAGES:
- Agile and omnidirectional motion
- Optimized energy efficiency
- High control capacity
DEVELOPMENT-TO-DATE:
Prototype developed and patent pending.