Technical Briefs, Design Engineering News

Keyword: Traction

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Coatings Could Improve Traction on Slick Surfaces

Material for shoe bottoms could help prevent falls in icy or slippery conditions.

Articles: Robotics, Automation & Control

Selecting Electric Traction Solutions for AGVs and Mobile Robots

Smarter, better, faster, less expensive — those words are the mantra of today’s global economy. As organizations seek to streamline operations and do more with less, they...

Articles: Photonics/Optics

Line Scan Cameras

Area array and line scan cameras are each suited for unique machine vision applications. Area array cameras, for all intents and purposes, are “conventional” cameras that use sensors with two-dimensional pixel arrays....

Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Multi-Spoked Wheel Assembly

NASA Glenn researchers have developed a spoked drive mechanism for robots and other vehicles that is capable of two rotational modes. This robust ground traction (drive) assembly for remotely controlled vehicles...

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Live-Cell Microscopy and Traction Force Measurements with Simulated Microgravity “Clinochip”

The deleterious effects of microgravity are undeniable: reduced bone mineral density, muscle atrophy, vascular remodeling, etc. These health...

Briefs: Software

Advanced Rolling Mechanics Analysis (AROMA) 1.0

AROMA uses a boundary-element formulation to calculate normal and shear pressure distributions and sub-surface stresses for elastic bodies in contact. In addition to handling static normal and sheer loading, it also solves the contact problem for rolling elements such as bearings, traction drives,...

Briefs: Motion Control

Sliding Gait for ATHLETE Mobility

ATHLETE (All-Terrain Hex-Limbed Extra-Terrestrial Explorer) is a multipurpose mobility platform for planetary surfaces. It is a cross between a wheeled rover and a walking robot, and travels using powered wheels mounted on the end of each of six robotic limbs. Each limb is a fully articulated robotic manipulator...

Briefs: Materials

Enhanced Schapery Theory Software Development for Modeling Failure of Fiber-Reinforced Laminates

Progressive damage and failure analysis (PDFA) tools are needed to predict the nonlinear response of advanced fiber-reinforced composite structures. Predictive tools should incorporate the underlying physics of the damage and failure mechanisms...

Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Long-Life, Lightweight, Multi-Roller Traction Drives for Planetary Vehicle Surface Exploration

NASA’s initiative for Lunar and Martian exploration will require long lived, robust drive systems for manned vehicles that must operate in hostile environments. The operation of these mechanical drives will pose a problem because of the existing...

Briefs: Energy

Spring Tire

A new tire is made from helical springs, requires no air or rubber, and consumes nearly zero energy. The spring tire provides greater traction in sandy and/or rocky soil, can operate in microgravity and under harsh conditions,...

Application Briefs: Test & Measurement

Measurement Systems Aid NASA in Study of Space Station Solar Array Anomaly

Surface and roundness measurement systems
Taylor Hobson
West Chicago, IL
630-621-3099
www.taylor-hobson.com

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight...

Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Energy-Absorbing, Lightweight Wheels

Improved energy- absorbing wheels are under development for use on special-purpose vehicles that must traverse rough terrain under conditions (e.g., extreme cold) in which rubber pneumatic tires would...

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...