Velocity Characteristics of Active Omni Wheel Considering Transmitting Mechanism

Transportation vehicles and mobile robots that can move in an arbitrary direction on a floor are currently in high demand. The authors proposed a novel mechanism called the active omni wheel, which is able to actively move in an arbitrary direction. The active omni wheel is composed of a main body and outer rollers. Both the main body and the outer rollers can be rotated actively by using a differential gear mechanism. The moving velocity of the active omni wheel was analyzed. It was clarified that the maximum velocity are different under different moving directions and that the wheel can output the maximum velocity in the forward–backward and transverse directions. An active omni wheel was produced. Experiments on the wheel showed that the main body and the outer rollers can be rotated actively and that the rotation agrees with the theoretical formulas.