SEOUL, Aug 22 — Researchers in South Korea have developed a concept for a wheel that features variable stiffness, directly inspired by the surface tension of a liquid droplet. This means it can change shape and rigidity in real time, depending on terrain conditions and the obstacles it encounters.
This concept was developed by a team of robotics researchers from several institutions in South Korea. It takes the form of a wheel with incredible properties. On flat ground, it maintains a rigid circular shape for fast, stable movement, but it can also adapt to any obstacle. Its rigidity then decreases accordingly, allowing it to deform to fit the shape of the obstacle, so that it can easily move over it. This change in stiffness is triggered automatically by external stimuli, enabling the wheel to adapt to the terrain in real time without manual intervention.
The deployment of such a wheel would be a gamechanger for helping robots or any other mobile system to negotiate obstacles in its path. As a first use case test, the researchers opted to install the changeable wheels on a wheelchair. And in their work with the wheelchair, such wheels demonstrated their ability to adapt in real time to variations in terrain, without the need for complex control systems. This new type of wheel could therefore considerably improve the ability of people with reduced mobility to move around on uneven terrain, such as sidewalks, dirt paths or slopes, reducing their need for assistance to overcome these obstacles.
The breakthrough wheel concept could also be put to use in many other outdoor robotic applications, where the ability to adapt to unpredictable terrain is absolutely crucial.
Still in the development phase, this project has already been the subject of a writeup in Science Robotics. — ETX Studio
