Just build it! : a fully functional concept vehicle using robotic wheels

Abstract

Interest in electric vehicle drive units is resurging with the proliferation of hybrid and electric vehicles. Currently emerging key-technologies are: in-wheel motors, electric braking, integrated steering activators and active suspension combined with embedded sensors and real time computation. These electric vehicle drive units have the potential to go beyond current applications and lead to a novel vehicle architectures and a new vehicle culture. Building upon the research in the Smart Cities Group at the MIT Media Lab I propose to implement a novel mechanical and electric robotic wheel technology and the associated control and drive software in a fully functional concept vehicle. I will make use of a modular design for wheel robots which I developed through prior iterations at different scales combined with applied automotive technologies. This platform provides a realistic and scalable test-bed for evaluating the proposed technologies and will ultimately serve building a full scale concept vehicle.