Exploiting Singular Configurations for Controllable, Low-Power Friction Enhancement on Unmanned Ground Vehicles

This letter describes the design, validation, and performance of a new type of adaptive wheel morphology for unmanned ground vehicles. Our adaptive wheel morphology uses a spiral cam to create a system that enables controllable deployment of high friction surfaces. The overall design is modular, battery powered, and can be mounted directly to the wheels of a vehicle without additional wiring. The use of a tailored cam profile exploits a singular configuration to minimize power consumption when deployed and protects the actuator from external forces. Component-level experiments demonstrate that friction on ice and grass can be increased by up to 170%. Two prototypes were installed on a 1:5 scale, radio-controlled rally car and tested. The devices were able to controllably deploy, increase friction, and greatly improve acceleration capacity on a slippery, synthetic ice surface.