Design of a spherical vehicle with flywheel momentum storage for high torque capabilities

A novel method for supplementing the propulsion of a spherical ground vehicle was conceived and developed. The addition of angular momentum storage via counter-rotating control moment gyroscopes is proposed in order to overcome significant limitations in the performance of earlier designs of spherical vehicles. Analysis and design of a fully functioning spherical vehicle incorporating such a mechanism is completed and indicates significantly increased torque capabilities for ascending steep inclines and stairs. A fully functional prototype is built and testing is ongoing to verify its capabilities.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2008

Author dc:creator

• Schroll, Gregory C. (Gregory Cordner)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Alexander H. Slocum.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/45296

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/45296