Motion Characteristics of a Square Wheel Car

A mechanical locomotive device that uses square wheels has been developed (patent pending), and a working prototype of one configuration has been built. This invention has applications to current locomotive devices, like robots or vehicles, as well as the potential to be used in micro devices (MEMS). The prototype uses a motor to create a moving force (a weight in this case), which moves in a repeating pattern, that in turn causes the device to move in a straight line, and there is no direct connection between the ground and the motor. Consequently, the device could work using any means to produce a moving force (weight, electrostatic, electromagnetic, aerodynamic, and so on). This paper describes the gait of the square wheels and looks at a sample of the results of standard dynamic modeling and analysis to understand the strengths and limitations of this new device.