Researchers Develop Transformable Wheel Mechanism for Commercial Vehicles

Strategic Insights -

Developed by researchers at Ibaraki University in Japan, a new transformable wheel mechanism called the dual legged-wheel (DLW) system has been designed to enable commercial vehicles to transport a wide range of weights over paved roads. The DLW system consists of two tri-legged structures coaxially connected through an elastic mechanism, allowing for automatic adaptation to step-climbing without the need for terrain sensing or precise control of both legged-wheels. This innovative mechanism enables the DLW to transform into a legged-wheel form during necessary times, such as while climbing a high step or stairs, and has been successfully tested in various scenarios.

Key Takeaways:

  • The dual legged-wheel (DLW) system is a transformable wheel mechanism designed for commercial vehicles to transport a wide range of weights over paved roads.
  • The DLW system consists of two tri-legged structures coaxially connected through an elastic mechanism, allowing for automatic adaptation to step-climbing.
  • The DLW can transform into a legged-wheel form during necessary times, such as while climbing a high step or stairs.
  • The mechanism enables the vehicle to automatically adapt to terrain and facilitate movement in circular-wheel form on flat terrain.
  • The DLW has been successfully tested in various scenarios, including ascending and descending stairs, traversing uneven terrain, and climbing steep slopes.
  • The research has been peer-reviewed and published in the IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters.

The study was led by Y. Fukuoka and included additional authors H. Okabe, Y. Nakamura, H. Shirado, and T. Koyano.

Statistics:

  • The study was published in the IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, Volume 10, Issue 9, 2025, pp. 8794-8801.
  • The research focused on developing a transformable wheel mechanism for commercial vehicles, with aims to transport a wide range of weights over paved roads.
  • The proposed elastic mechanism enables the DLWs to passively transform into the legged-wheel form only during necessary time.
  • The study concluded that the DLW system can successfully adapt to step-climbing, stairs, uneven terrain, and steep slopes.

Sources:

  • Automatic Adaptation To Step-climbing In Elastically Coupled Dual Legged-wheels. IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 2025;10(9):8794-8801.
  • NewsRx. Researchers from Ibaraki University Provide Details of New Studies and Findings in the Area of Robotics and Automation (Automatic Adaptation To Step-climbing In Elastically Coupled Dual Legged-wheels). Robotics & Machine Learning. September 1, 2025; p 539.