We have been trying to reinvent the wheel for years. It turns out that it was as simple as replacing it with pilates balls

I have always seemed curious the saying “We are not going to reinvent the wheel.” It is used when trying to develop a solution from scratch instead of taking advantage of an already proven and works well. And I say it seems curious because We have reinvented the wheel On many occasions, and we continue to do so.

Two examples are wheels without air And, above all, the solutions for vehicles operating on land like Mars. Although circulars, its technology and design have nothing to do with the wheels we use daily. And, okay, I accept that, being circular, we are really changing the materials, not reinventing the object.

But what if instead of making circular wheels … we made them spherical? Because that is precisely what the engineer and youtuber James Bruton has built: some omnidirectional wheels that solve current problems They have motorcycles and that would also be very interesting if they apply to vehicles such as cars and trucks.

Let’s welcome the wheel II

To reinvent the wheel, the system should not be just an improved version of the original. As I commented, the Antipinhazos wheels They are not a completely reinvention, but a technological improvement. What Bruton has achieved could be described as a reinvention (although he has side more than one attempt).

The reason? In its motorcycle prototype of the future, we not only have the two balls that make contact with the ground, but a system of three rotary mechanisms for each wheel that are really applying the necessary force to move the balls and, therefore, the vehicle.

More than the spheres, the key to the peculiar movement of this vehicle are systems that rotate in opposite directions and all the time balance each other to achieve movement. Each of these mechanisms is driven by an electric motor that transfers the power, but also introduced a self -evaluated system similar to that of a Segway.

In this way, it is not necessary to rely on the floor with the legs when the vehicle stops, and it is not necessary to maintain the balance in a “manual” way.

Its advantages?

• You can go back without boosting with your legs.
• It has lateral displacement.
• You can make diagonals and turn on your axis. For a parking lot, this is great.

In the video it is very interesting to see that the noise it makes is minimal, that it reaches some speed and that the mechanisms that rotate the balls are working all the time to give speed to the vehicle and to maintain balance.

Imperfect, but with potential

Now, it is not perfect. In the video we can see that the youtuber has trouble going straight and There seems to be a quite pronounced difficulty curve both to go forward and to take a curve. In a road situation, it would be something really dangerous because, in addition, we do not have a conventional handlebar, but a bar that remains fixed and controls rotating the handle.

There is also a time when it accelerates more of the account and the balls are shot. Wow, something like that would need your own driver’s license if applied to the real world, but if the problems were solved, it is a very interesting system for motorcycles due to automatic balance.

For cars and trucks it would not be a bad idea either, since they could park much more simplely.

Seeing this invention, the Audi of the movie ‘I, robot’ that has similar wheels and It was a real prototype. Also the Byd video parking in parallel Thanks to nailing the front wheels and making the rear turn slowly to “skid” until the car is aligned in the parking lot.

Will we adopt wheel one day like these? Whatever happens, the truth is that it is interesting how we continue to find new ways to improve something that has implanted so many years.

Images | James Bruton

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