Roadless wheel concept adjusts to all terrains

Graduate student Ackeem Ngwenya has combined the 6000 year-old wheel with modern materials to develop a new type of all-terrain wheel assembly that switches from narrow to wide tread at the turn of a screw. His Roadless wheel system, while envisioned for rural applications in his native Malawi, has the potential to be as big a change to road (and off-road) transport as was the introduction of anti-lock braking.We've all done it. Before embarking on a long driving trip on smooth-surfaced interstate highways or other roads of national importance, we'll raise the tire pressure to boost the gas mileage a bit. Stuck in the snow, mud, or sand? Let some pressure out of the tires to increase the contact area, while at the same time increasing the chances that the now floppy tire will grab hold. However, the benefits of trying to change the aspect ratio of a tire by simply changing pressure are rather minor, and often associated with a significant loss in tire lifetime.

The Roadless wheel concept is based on networks of compliant arches whose shapes vary with...

The Roadless wheel system attempts to throw out the limitations of a pneumatic tire by substituting a tread material wrapped around a pair of rod networks attached by an axle. The rods are adjusted using a mechanism reminiscent of a scissor jack.

The adjustment mechanism of a Roadless wheel is rather like that of a scissor jack (Image:...

When the disks on which the rods are mounted are far apart, the wheel takes the form of a wide tire of small diameter. When the disks are moved close together, the wheel becomes a narrow tire of large diameter. The proximate rods from the two disks are mutually attached to a fixed bearing (light blue circle).

A Roadless wheel adjusted to a variety of aspect ratios (Photo: Ackeem Ngwenya)

The tread of the wheel must be sufficiently compliant to adapt to the changing aspect ratio of the wheel, so is likely to be some form of elastomer.

Alternately, the wheel can include compliant members that directly form the shape and supporting mechanism for the tread, which can then be as simple as a sheet of rubber.

A Roadless wheel made of spring steel rods connected to an axle by movable mounts whose ad...

The video below tells the story of Roadless, and also shows more clearly how it adjusts to varying terrain. There are a host of variations of this basic idea, whose genesis was to make it easier for people living in rural Malawi to more easily deliver their goods to market. It does not seem likely that this concept will stop there.

Comments

NES robot mash-up competes in robo boxing tournament

In a move that brings back memories of the R.O.B. (Robotic Operating Buddy) that was available for the original Nintendo Entertainment System, Japanese hobbyist Izumi Ninagawa has simplified the controls of a modern fighting robot to work with a Famicom (8-bit NES) game pad – which has one of the most basic button configurations around. The NES-styled robot even competed in a robot boxing tournament earlier this year Ninagawa's XEMNES robot is based on a lightweight kit sold by De Agostini called ROBO-XERO , which weighs less than one kilogram (2.2 pounds) and is powered by 24 Futaba servo motors. By attaching a Bluetooth dongle to the robot with a special micro controller, Ninagawa was able to take advantage of various wireless controllers, including the Nintendo Wii remote. The remote was then hidden inside the shell of a Famicom, and attached to the Famicom controller using an adapter to complete the set-up. Despite the NES pad's limited number of buttons, variou...

Nanotubes boost potential of salinity power as a renewable energy source

In November 2009, Norwegian state owned electricity company Statkraft opened the world’s first osmotic power plant prototype , which generates electricity from the difference in the salt concentration between river water and sea water. While osmotic power is a clean, renewable energy source, its commercial use has been limited due to the low generating capacities offered by current technology – the Statkraft plant, for example, has a capacity of about 4 kW. Now researchers have discovered a new way to harness osmotic power that they claim would enable a 1 m 2 (10.7 sq. ft.) membrane to have the same 4 kW capacity as the entire Statkraft plant. The global osmotic, or salinity gradient, power capacity, which is concentrated at the mouths of rivers, is estimated by Statkraft to be in the region of 1,600 to 1,700 TWh annually. Electricity can be generated through the osmotic phenomena that results when a reservoir of fresh water is brought into contact with a reservoir ...

Sun will cause pause in Mars exploration in April

NASA is taking an enforced holiday of sorts in April as it suspends Mars exploration missions for 17 to 21 days. This isn't due to budget cuts, but rather because Mars will be in conjunction with the Sun during April, which will make direct communications with the probes difficult, if not impossible. During this time, mission control will place NASA’s unmanned Mars spacecraft on low activity and will not send any new command signals.In April, Mars and the Earth will be on opposite sides of the Sun. Because of the different orbital speeds of the two planets, this occurs every 26 months and because Mars is so close to the powerful radiation of the Sun, this can disrupt communications with spacecraft orbiting the Red Planet or on its surface. This is especially true this year because Mars will pass at an angle of only 0.4 degrees away from the Sun’s disk on April 17. What is worse, this is during at the peak of the Sun’s active phase of its 22-year cycle. Though the Sun isn...

ANBARASUASOKAN

Search This Blog