PaTS-Wheel Passively Transformable Robot Wheel for Unstructured Terrain

Here is another clever approach for enabling robots to navigate unstructured terrain. This hybrid wheel transform from a smooth wheel to one that can grip edges. It combines the benefits of whegs and regular wheels. The PaTS-Wheel has a pad, claw, and coupler. When the pad is depressed, the claw extends.

PaTS-Wheel: A Passively-Transformable Single-Part Wheel for Mobile Robot Navigation

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The above video shows this clever 3D printed wheel in action. According to the researchers, this wheel significantly outperformed the wheg in terms of flat ground power consumption.

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