Omnidirectional wheels have been around for decades but that doesn't stop us imagining the day they'll finally become practical to use. The latest video
to inspire this omnidirectional dreaming comes from William Liddiard, a
Canadian inventor who came up with his own take on the classic
design. You can see the so-called Liddiard Wheels in action above,
fitted to what appears to be a Toyota Echo.
These wheels can be bolted onto any car without modifications
Liddiard claims that unlike other omnidirectional wheels, his design
doesn't require any extra modifications to the car. They simply bolt on,
he says, and they're ready to use. They're also designed to be
functional in "all weather and road conditions," and have the "same
build characteristics" as regular tires — i.e. a standard rubber
composition and functional treads.
The wheels in the video above are only a prototype, but back in March
Liddiard said that he was looking to sell the design to a company like
Goodyear or Honda. Certainly more refinement is needed before the wheels
would ever be ready for commercial use. For example, Liddiard says his
current design delivers a frankly unbelievable 24,000 pounds of torque
or rotational force to the wheels. That's many times more torque than a tank,
and in a comment on the video Liddiard admits that this was a mistake,
and that future designs would need a different gearing ratio if they
were going to move with any speed. Your parallel parking omnidirectional
dreams will have to wait a little longer.
http://www.theverge.com/2016/6/30/12064724/omnidirectional-wheels-video-liddiard
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