Technical Briefs, Design Engineering News

Keyword: Wheels

Briefs: Motion Control

Estimation of Wheel-Contact State of a Robotic Vehicle

A method of estimating the state of contact between (1) the wheels of a robotic vehicle equipped with a rocker-bogey suspension and (2) the ground has been devised. The contact-state...

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Higher-Resolution Optoelectronic Shaft-Angle Encoder

The apparatus shown schematically in the figure is an optoelectronic shaft-angle encoder that measures absolute angles with high resolution. This encoder is an improved version of the...

Briefs: Materials

Cold Hibernated Elastic Memory (CHEM) Expandable Structures

Experiments have confirmed the feasibility of a new class of lightweight, reliable, simple, and low-cost expandable structures. The concept called "cold hibernated elastic memory" (CHEM) utilizes the shape memory polymers (SMPs) in open cellular structures. Basically, these structures...

Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Wheel Drive of Mars Rover

A brief report summarizes the design of the lightweight, high-torque wheel drive of a small robotic vehicle used to explore the surface of Mars. Planetary gearing was selected for compactness and high torque capability. The input stages were fitted with ball bearings to survive the cold (down to -100 °C) Martian...

Briefs: Motion Control

All-Terrain Vehicle With Self-Righting and Pose Control

A small prototype robotic all-terrain vehicle features a unique drive and suspension system that affords capabilities for self righting, pose control, and enhanced maneuverability for...