Smartwheels

Special "wheels" that are actually sets of spokes that telescope to be as long as they need to be for a smooth ride. (Read the full article)

"Check out the Ped Wheel. An idea from around 1910 as a precursor and or competitor to tracks. Many were built, some with complex geometry. Unfortunatly you loose contact area on the ground hence contact pressures go up which is bad news on most surfaces. The idea of variable geometry wheels is something I've been playing with for years. New materials and control capabilities mean something is possible."
(Stephen Thomas 6/9/2004 4:13:00 PM )
"Now you can. http://www.sportbilen.se/e_index.php?page=e_news.php?id=89 http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000130025753/ "
(Per 1/11/2005 9:24:16 AM )
"For applications of this technology in NASA-form see about the Mars Science Laboratory: (picture) http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/imagedisplay/img_display.php?pic=h_rover-comp_wheels_02.jpg&cap=High+rollers%3A+Relative+sizes+of+wheels+used+on+Mars+rovers+%96+from+left+to+right%3A+Mars+Pathfinder%92s+Sojourner%3B+the+Spirit+and+Opportunity+robots%3B+to+Mars+Science+Laboratory.+Image+Credit%3A+NASA%2FJPL (engineering principle) http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/rover/Mars.wheels.bpf.html"
(Masa Thavia 3/19/2006 8:00:36 PM )
"Check out www.SmartWheel.com.au a full sized vehicle, commercial version of the USU CSOIS 'Smart Wheels'"
(Glen Rayward 7/24/2007 5:17:34 PM )
"i am working on a prototype of smartwheels [the neal stephenson type] right now. its not as difficult as one might think. soulutions needed ole at falanx dot de"
(ole 8/24/2011 2:26:41 PM )

More info on Smartwheels

Leave a comment:

Tediously, spammers have returned. Please send your comments to @technovelgy and I'll post them. Thanks!

 

 

 

Current News Articles

Meta's Horizon Studio's Unique Avatars From Text Prompts
'Looks like she has bought the Avatar Construction Set and put together her own...'

VaMEx Biomimetic Mars Robot Inspired By Skink
'Across the ground something small and metallic came, flashing in the dull sunlight of midday.'

NEO Brain Computer Interface (BCI)
'The remains of the lace took on the rough shape of a brain...'

Did Frank Herbert Predict E-Ink Displays?
'A broken circle with arrows pointing to a right-hand flow appeared in the chalf.'

Monolith One Giant Industrial Metal 3D-printer
'The object seemed melted together like wax — nothing was distinguishable.'

'Mooncrete' Lunar Regolith Concrete (LRC)
'And here they began to build...'

China's 'Magpie Drone' Ornithopter
'Midges have many capabilities. To the untrained eye, they look like sparrows.'

MAI-Voice-2 Microsoft Text-To-Speech
'I made disks of my own voice to the number of five hundred very carefully chosen words.'

Tumblin' Tumbleweed Rovers To Eplore Mars
'His sensors out and working, and the whirring of the tape that sucked up sight and sound and shape and smell and form...'

Tentacled Robot Captures Space Debris
Preventing annoying space debris build-up.

Prufrock-MB2 Ready In Nashville
'It sounds to me as though you had invented a kind of metal earthworm.'

DIY Robotic Content Farming
'The chief wheeled to the master machine and pressed a button.'

Home | Glossary | Invention Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.