IOSR Journal of Mechanical and Civil Engineering (IOSR-JMCE)

e-ISSN: 2278-1684,p-ISSN: 2320-334X, Volume 12, Issue 2 Ver. II (Mar - Apr. 2015), PP 23-33
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Vibration Propulsion of a Mobile Robot

Ivan Antonov Loukanov
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Botswana, Botswana

Abstract: This paper presents the original work done by the author in his effort to transform the
rotating motion of two synchronized eccentric masses into rectilinear unidirectional motion of a mobile robot
placed on frictional ground. Although most of the inertial drives are considered defying the laws of motion the
proposed vibration propulsion is proved working without contradicting those laws. Based on this technique a
wheeled robot vehicle is designed, build and successfully tested on various friction surfaces attaining a
maximum towing force of 8.5 [N] although having a weight of 25 [N]. The motion is achieved by using inertial
and friction forces, one-way roller bearings installed in the hubs of wheels and setting an oscillating system
integrated into the robot to resonance. By altering the magnitude of the oscillating mass or the stiffness of
spring system the resonance frequency of the oscillating system is changed. In order to improve furthermore the
propulsion abilities of the robot it is recommended increasing the magnitude of eccentric masses and
redesigning the robot so as a reversed motion is obtained. The suggested modifications will improve the towing
and the steering ability of the robot, making it more effective in real applications.
Keywords - Deans drive, eccentric masses, inertial propulsion, one-way bearings, resonance oscillations.

I. Introduction
There are many useful industrial application of induced vibration caused by counter-rotating eccentric
masses e.g. crashing ore, drilling rocks, separating of valuable materials in the mining and flotation industry,
pumping crude oil or ground water from deep wells, etc. [1], [2], [3]. For many decades researches and
enthusiasts from all over the world have made incredible attempts to invent a device capable of defying
Newtons Laws of motions by using inertia forces generated by two contra-rotating masses. So far there have
been granted hundreds of patent for such devices claiming by their authors that they generate unidirectional
inertial forces by converting the rotary motion of eccentric masses into linear motion such as [3, 4], and many
others.

Fig. 1 shows schematically the 3D - Dean Drive.

Unfortunately most of the published patent did not work according to the expectations, others appear
disappointing their inventors, but there are some small numbers of patents being exceptional in terms of their
design and performance. Unfortunately these are still disputable and not accepted by the conservative scientific
society. These are known as inertial propulsion engines, impulse engines, reactionless drives, inertial drives,
non-linear propulsion, etc. The most fascinating invention of this type is that of Dean [3]. This device,
commonly known as Deans Drive shown in Fig 1, employs two contra-rotating eccentric masses mounted on
a carrier, which in turn is guided on vertical rails and is attached to the housing by means of tension springs.
According to [3] by dragging the frame of the carrier when the latter passes through its equilibrium position the
drive gains a unidirectional propulsion force of nearly 5% of the weight of the mechanism. Fig. 1 illustrates
schematically the Dean inertial drive as shown in his patent along with the terms of the positions labeled in the
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Vibration Propulsion of a Mobile Robot

sketch. One noticeable resent development in the inertial propulsion is proposed and profoundly studied by
Provatidis [4]. This study investigates the possibility of continuous sliding propulsion of a rigid body driven
again by two contra-rotating masses. The device is placed on a horizontal frictional surface and is propelled by a
specially designed rotation cycle of an electric motor spinning the eccentric masses. The principle of propulsion
is based upon the difference in the static and kinetic coefficient of friction between the body and the horizontal
friction surface to achieve a unidirectional motion. Therefore it does not violate the Newton laws of motion and
should be treated as a reaction inertial drive.
For many years the author of this paper has designed, constructed and tested various propulsion devices
employing either two contra-rotating masses as in the Deans drive, or two synchronized pendulums, or using
gyroscope-like rotating eccentric masses. The latter masses trace out 3D trajectories similar to figure-eight shape
located on the upper halve of a spherical surface. A mechanism similar to the Dean drive was also used in the
study [5] for pumping ground water from shallow to medium-depth boreholes. Also the author has designed and
built several models and prototypes of inertial pumps, which are either engine, motor, or solar powered, which
were successfully tested in Botswana. The study done in [6] presents a theoretical analysis of a friction
dependent inertial drive also employing the Deans drive mechanism. Although this study is greatly simplified,
it shows that if the inertial drive is scaled up it may be used for driving heavy duty wheeled or caterpillar
tractors operating at low speed as proposed by Goncharevich [7]. It should be acknowledged that author
independently invented, designed and developed the proposed drive as his personal idea before seeing the
Russian Patent [8], where the book [7] was cited as a patent source. A year later the author obtained the book
from a Russian source and for his surprise the drive was discussed on pages 173-176 with minor differences in
the dynamic model of the propulsion system.

Fig. 2 shows the dynamic model of the propulsion system, where 1 is the outer frame, 2 is the inner frame
carrying the oscillating system, 3 are the wheels fitted out with a one-way bearing 4 allowing forward rotation
and preventing the backward one, 5 is the spring suspension system and 6 are the linear bearings.
The current paper presents the study of one of the recently designed vibration propulsion system built
into a small robot vehicle. The latter is powered by a single degree-of-freedom oscillating system excited in
near-to-resonance conditions by two contra-rotating masses as it is done in the Deans drive (Fig. 1). This
system was successfully used in inertial pumps developed by the author [6], as well as in vibration drive of
vehicles [7]. It should be noted that the motion of the drive is dependent upon the friction forces between the
wheels and the ground thus it does not defy the Newtons laws of motion and should be considered as a friction
drive. It is the authors believed that the proposed method of propulsion could be used to power specially
designed robots for variety of military and industrial applications. If its power is proportionally increased it may
be used as proposed in [7] but as an extra source of propulsion or in combination with the conventional gear
train drives.

II. Dynamic Model And Theoretical Analysis

Considering the problems observed in most of the patents issued to date on this subject matter, a vibration
propulsion system was designed, built and successfully tested. Fig. 2 show the dynamic model of the proposed
propulsion drive similar to that investigated in [6, 7]. The new design consists of two frames connected by
means of tension springs and linear bearings. The inner frame (carrier) consists of an excitation mechanism
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Vibration Propulsion of a Mobile Robot

composed of two counter-rotating eccentric masses synchronized by two gears (Dean Drive) and powered by a
small DC motor. The outer frame (chasses) carries the inner frame, the spring system, the linear ball bearings
and the wheels having their axes fixed to the outer frame. The parameters of the dynamic model of the
propulsion system are as follows:
m - the total mass of rotating masses, [kg];
e - eccentricity of rotating masses, [m];
me- the amount of unbalance of rotating masses, [kg.m]
M - total mass of the oscillating system including the mass of the inner frame and half of the mass of the linear
ball bearings, [kg];
c - damping constant of the viscous damper assumed to be the internal friction in the springs, [N.s/m];
k - stiffness of the spring elastic suspension, [N/m];
- angular velocity of rotating masses, [rad/s];
xr - relative displacement between the inner & outer frames, [m];
x - absolute displacement of the outer frame, [m]
t - time, [s].
In this study a simplified engineering approach is presented when describing the propulsion device.
The equation of relative motion of the oscillating system (carrier) with respect to the chasses is considered to be
a single-degree-of-freedom mechanical system, although the whole propulsion system might be treated as multidegrees-of-freedoms. Thus it is presented in accordance with reference [9] as follows:
(1)
Mxr cxr kxr me 2 sin( t )
The above equation is an ordinary differential equation (ODE) with constant coefficients, having a special righthand side of the type F (t) = Fo sin (t) = me2 sin (t).
The steady-state solution of the system response, signifying the resonance oscillations is determined in
accordance with the type of excitation force and is given by the particular solution in the form:
(2)
xr (t ) X r sin( t ) , [m]
Where: Xr is the resonance amplitude of inner frame with respect to the outer one, which is given by:
me 2
, [m].
(3)
Xr

(k M 2 ) 2 (c ) 2

The phase angle in (2) is obtained from:

c , [rad]
(4)
tan 1
2
k M
The latter indicates that the response of the oscillating system lags the action of the excitation force Fo (t). Since
the oscillating system is designed to operate in close-to-resonance conditions the phase angle is always close
to /2 [rad], regardless of the amount of damping. Therefore the oscillating system responds after a delay of
=/2 [rad] when the excitation force F (t) = Fo sin (t) has been applied by the rotating eccentric masses.
By substituting (3) and (4) into (2) the resonance oscillations of the inner frame with respect to the outer one
may be presented in the form:
me 2

(5)
xr (t )
sin t , [m]
2 2
2
2

(k M ) (c )
For this application it is very important to determine the amplitude of the force transmitted from the
inner frame to the outer one through the springs and the damping. So the total force transmitted is made up of
spring force and damping force components, the latter being assumed to be treated as a fluid damping:
2

2

FT (kX r ) 2 (cX r ) 2 kX r 1
, [N]
n
( Fo / k )

k 1 (2 / n ) 2
2 2
2
[1 ( / n ) ] [2 / n ]

where:
n

(6)

k is the natural frequency of the non-damped oscillating system, [rad/s] and:

M

2Mn
4 2 2

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(7)
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Vibration Propulsion of a Mobile Robot

is the damping factor of the oscillating system determined through the logarithmic decrement of free vibrations:

1 X
(7a)
ln r ,( o )
n X r ,( n )
By definition the force transmissibility (TR) of the oscillating system to the foundation (the chasses) is
defined as the ratio of the amplitudes of the transmitted force to that of the excitation one. Thus substituting (6)
into that ratio eliminates the amplitude of the excitation force to get:
Fo 1 (2 / n ) 2
1 (2 / n ) 2
F
,
(8)
TR T

Fo Fo [1 ( / n ) 2 ]2 [2 / n ]2
[1 ( / n ) 2 ]2 [2 / n ]2
Usually when vibration insulation is targeted then the transmitted force to the foundation should be
minimized and therefore the frequency ratio must be /n 2. This means that the oscillating system should
operate to the right of the resonance point / n >1. In contrast to that in this study the concept is to increase the
propulsion ability of the robot vehicle therefore it requires maximizing the force transmitted to the outer frame.
Under these considerations the oscillating system should operate to the left of the resonance where 0< / n <1.
This is very important because of the objective to utilize the amplifying effect of the resonance phenomenon as
applied to the transmitted force, resonance amplitudes and the resonance accelerations. Now by using (8) and
the expression for the excitation force F(t)=Fo.sin(t), the force transmitted to the chasses through the springs
coils and damping effect becomes:
1 (2 / n ) 2
(9)
FT (t ) [TR F (t )]
Fo sin t
[1 ( / n ) 2 ]2 [2 / n ]2
It is worth mentioning that when increases and the oscillating system enters the resonance where /n=1, then
from (9) the expression of the transmitted force FT simplifies to
1 (2 ) 2
(10)
FT (t ) Fo sin(t ) (me 2 )
sin(t ) .
(2 ) 2
The radical in (10) presents the magnification factor in resonance, showing that the amplitude of F T(t)
increases significantly, but owing to the damping in the springs and in the linear ball bearings the amplitudes do
not become infinitely large as the case is in the absence of damping.
By varying the speed of rotating masses one can control the magnitude of the excitation force by means
of magnitude of the excitation force Fo me 2 and therefore the amplitudes of the transmitted force, resonance
velocities and resonance accelerations. Essentially, the speed of rotating masses may increase until the force
transmitted during the backward action of the oscillating system does not exceed the maximum friction force
between the wheels and the ground surface. This requirement will prevent the wheels from slipping during the
backward action of the transmitted force and allow a proper control of the forward speed and the propulsion
force of the robot vehicle. In addition to that for more accurate analysis one should also consider the grip
between the wheels and the ground so the combined coefficient of friction would be larger than the static one.
This would let attaining greater towing force as compared to that due to the static friction only.
According to the principle of linear momentum applied to the mass center of the whole system along
the x-axis (Fig. 2) for one period of oscillations, one can write the following combined equation:
T/ 2

T/ 2

T/ 2

M T (vx vo,x ) FT (t)dt Fr dt Fs dt

(11)

where: MT is the total mass of the vehicle including the mass of the wheels and the masses of the inner and outer
frames along with their components; vox and vx, are the initial forward and final velocities of the mass center of
the robot, T is the period of one oscillation of the system, FT (t) is the variable transmitted force, Fr=r.MT.g is
the rolling resistance force acting on the wheels during the forward stroke of the transmitted force and
Fs=sMT.g is the static friction force acting on the wheels during the backward action of the transmitted force.
In fact for correct analysis, (11) has to be split into two equations each of them applied to the forward
and backward motion of the mechanical system respectively, assuming that there is no motion in the backward
direction as this is written below:
T /2

T /2

M T (v x vo, x ) FT (t )dt Fr

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dt

(12)

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Vibration Propulsion of a Mobile Robot

T /2

T /2

M T (0 vo, x ) FT (t )dt Fs

dt

(13)

For detailed analysis it is recommended that the dynamic model of the wheel need also to be
considered and analyzed, including its behavior during the backward action of the transmitted force, as well as
the wheel elastic and damping properties as shown in [7], the grip with the ground and other possible details.
Now, the full expression of the impulse of the transmitted force during resonance in the forward and backward
oscillations corresponding to the angle of rotation of eccentric masses =t (0, 2) may be written as:
T
T
1 (2 ) 2
(14)
I F (t ) FT (t )dt (me 2 )
sin t dt .
2
(
2

)
0
0
Fig. 3 shows the graphical interpretation of the impulse of FT = FT (t) given by (14), where the period
of one oscillation along with the positive and negative branches of the impulse are indicated. It is obvious that
the resultant impulse of the transmitted force per cycle of oscillation is zero because of the equal positive and
negative branches of the impulse. Therefore according to (12) there will be no change in the linear momentum
and hence there will be no unidirectional motion of the system. In this case, if the wheels are free to rotate in
both directions about their axes the action of the transmitted force will result in a forward and backward motion
of the mass center of the system consistent with the positive and negative branches of the impulses respectively.
T

Apparently this is not what is desired, so to avoid this reciprocating motion it is decided the wheels to
be fitted with one-way-rotating roller bearings, also known as unidirectional mechanical clutches as seen in [7].
The latter allowed rotation in one direction and prevents rotation in the opposite direction. Fig. 4 shows the
creative view of a one-way rotating bearing, where b, ro and r are bearing parameters. It consists of a stationary
shaft to which a slotted cylinder is fixed, one-way rotating outer ring and balls. The actual bearings used in this
study have rollers instead of balls, which also bear the radial loads acting upon the wheels.

Owing to the installation of the above bearings the negative impulses were removed and the positive
ones remain, consequently the graph of the impulse of FT(t) changes to that as shown by Fig. 5. The remaining
one-sided impulses change the linear momentum in x-direction as per (12) and a unidirectional pulsing motion
of the vehicle is obtained. By increasing the speed of rotation of eccentric masses the frequency changes and the
amplitude of excitation force FO=me2 increases forcing the motion to become smoother and stronger. This
drives the oscillating system to enter the resonance zone in the ascending branch of the resonance graph where
/n 1 resulting in increasing the magnitude of the transmitted force. As a result the demand for a stronger
friction force on the wheels during backward action of the transmitted force also increases until the maximum
friction force is reached. If exceeded this eventually may cause slippage of the wheel in the backward direction,
which is unwanted effect, as this will reduce the propulsion capacity of the robot vehicle.
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Vibration Propulsion of a Mobile Robot

III. Wheels Interaction With The Ground
The pictorial view of the prototype model vehicle and the gauge used to measure towing forces are presented in
Fig. 6. It is obvious that the axes of the wheels are fastened tightly to the outer frame and there are no hidden
transmission elements rotating the wheels. Accordingly the propulsion of vehicle is due to the positive impulses
of the transmitted force, owing to the one-way bearings and the friction reactions provided by the wheels and the
ground.

The following are the parameters of the robot prototype: m = 20.06 kg = 0.12 [kg] is the combined
mass of rotating masses fixed to the synchronizing gears at eccentricity e = 12.5 [mm]; M = 1.0 [kg] is the total
mass of the oscillating system including that of rotating masses, the mass of the inner frame, synchronizing
gears, the DC motor and the upper halve of the mass of the linear bearings; M o.f.=1.5 [kg] is the mass of the
outer frame (o.f.) including the mass of the wheels, the fixed shafts and the one-way bearings; MT=2.5 [kg] is
the total mass of the robot vehicle. In this design the total spring stiffness, k of the oscillating system may be
varied when using springs of different stiffness to achieve resonance within the range of operation of the motor
speed. In addition to the above parameters the mass of the oscillating system M can also be increased to study
the effect of the oscillating mass on the towing capacity and forward velocity of the robot vehicle.
The conducted preliminary experiments with the robot vehicle indicated that a unidirectional forward
motion is achieved although in a pulsing manner, corresponding to the style of the positive impulses of the
transmitted force FT (t), as shown in Fig. 5. The frequency of excitation is dependent upon of the preset
resonance frequency of the system and is controlled by increasing the motor speed. The higher the natural
frequency of the system the smoother the motion of the vehicle is.
In the course of conducted experiments a maximum propulsion force of 8.5 [N] is measured, depending
upon the coefficient of static friction between the wheels and the contacting surface, the mass of the oscillating
system, the combined mass of the eccentric masses, the frequency of oscillations and the total mass of the robot
vehicle. The latter contributed to the resultant friction force as it is reliant on the normal reactions on the wheels,
while the combined mass of rotating masses - m and the mass of the oscillating system - M affect the magnitude
of the transmitted force as per equations (6) and (10). It is also found that in close to resonance conditions when
/n1 the transmitted force attains its maximum value corresponding to the maximum forward speed and the
maximum towing force developed. As long as the value of the transmitted force during its backward action does
not exceed the magnitude of the static friction force between the wheels and the ground there is a strong
unidirectional motion. When the vehicle is moving in a forward direction it overcomes the rolling friction only,
which is known to be much smaller than the static one. This difference helps achieving easy propulsion on soft,
sandy or unstable surfaces. That depends upon the grip capacity of the wheels, the area of contact, the type of
ground and the contacting pressure on the surface. Certainly these are the same parameters generally required to
accomplish motion on soft soils for the conventional vehicles.
To understand how the vibration driven vehicle propels as compared to the torque driven one both
methods of propulsion are further investigated and analyzed. Fig. 7 illustrates the free-body-diagram (FBD) of a
torque-driven wheel of a conventional motor vehicle interacting with a frictional surface. Accordingly during
uniform motion the force pushing the wheel forward is the friction force, which is balancing the toque through
the wheel effective radius. When the torque T=re.Fs increases then the static friction force Fs provided by the
contact surface also increases, until the maximum friction force Fmax s Mg is attained. Any additional demand
for friction force larger than the maximum one leads towards slippage of the wheel against the surface. Usually
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Vibration Propulsion of a Mobile Robot

just before slippage occurs it is said that there is an impending slipping and any further increase of the toque will
force the wheel to start slipping continuously on the surface. Thus the traction will be greatly reduced and the
vehicle cannot propel itself any more. Under these conditions the traction capacity of the wheel is exceeded and
the forward motion of the vehicle is seized, because of the lost grip. This is the limiting situation, which
frequently occurs on rainy (wet), sandy, mud-covered or icy surfaces. When the torque driven wheels of a
vehicle start slipping they penetrate deeper and dipper into the surface and the vehicles are getting trapped in
ditches formed under the slipping wheels.

Fig. 8 presents the FBD of a wheel driven by a variable force as per the proposed method, where the
driving force is the force transmitted FT(t) to the wheel axle via the outer frame. The effect of this force is
pushing the wheel along the surface and a small amount of this force is balanced by the rolling resistance force
Fr as shown in Fig. 8 (a). There are two components acting at the point of contact A, where Fr=r.N is the
rolling resistance force and N is the normal reaction of the ground. As seen from this figure when the
transmitted force acts in the forward direction then the wheel simply rolls overhead the surface and overcomes
the rolling resistance force Fr only. Under these conditions the wheel is accelerated since the driving force FT(t)
is much more than the rolling resistance forces. It should be noted that wheel does general plane motion and
point A acts as an instantaneous center of rotation (ICR) for the wheel, since there is no slippage and the
velocity of this point is zero. Therefore there are two unknown forces N and Fr, and the kinematics parameters
- ac, and r.

Applying the differential equations of the general plane motion and the kinematic relations to the ICR we have

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Vibration Propulsion of a Mobile Robot

M T xC FT (t ) Fr
M T yC N M T g
I F r
C

(a)
(b)
(c )

yC 0 No motion in y direction
x a r r

(d )

VC re re

(f)

Fr r N

(g)

(15)

(e)

In the above equations the effect of the impact taking place at the instant of blocking the wheels by the one-way
rotating bearings during the backward action of the transmitted force is not taken into consideration. Contrary to
the case presented in Fig. 7 there is no slippage or impending slipping in the analysis for the coefficient of
rolling resistance, provided that the acting force F T is constant. Then from static equilibrium of the wheel the
following expression for the coefficient of rolling resistance is determined:
F (t )
1
1 (2 ) 2
r T
(me 2 )
sin( t ) (16)
M T .g M T .g
(2 ) 2
The above results suggest that the coefficient r changes according to the variation of the transmitted force FT(t).
In fact the transmitted force is a fluctuating one as specified by (10) hence the differential equations describing
the general plane motion (15) of the wheel have to be considered in determining the unknown
parameters, xC aC , , Fr , N and r . The results obtained are as follows:
xC aC

2me 2
sin(t ),
( 2 M T mw )

[m/s 2 ]

N M T .g ,

[N]

mw
Fr
(me 2 ) . sin(t ),
2 M T mw

[N]

xC
2me 2

sin(t ),
re
(2M T mw ). re

(17)

[rad/s 2 ]

mw
Fr
1

(me 2 ) . sin(t ), [dimension less]

N M T .g ( 2 M T mw )

2
Where the expression 1 (2 ) is the dimensionless resonance magnification factor of the system.
(2 ) 2
All the above results, with the exception of N, nullify when sin (t) < 0, because when the
transmitted force FT(t) is acting in the backward direction (Fig. 8b), the one-way bearing prevents the wheel
from rolling in this direction and therefore there will be no motion. During this time interval (T/2) the impulse
of the transmitted force is balanced by the impulse of the static friction force Fs emanating from the ground and
acting on the wheel. When FT(t) increases then the friction force also increases until Fs=Fs,max=sN is attained.
Since the proposed propulsion is created by a variable force, this may eventually reduce the static coefficient of
friction to the kinetic one - k if the propulsion force becomes greater than Fs,max. This effect will ultimately
decrease the towing ability of the mobile robot depending upon the difference in the coefficients of friction. On
the other hand the contemporary wheels are made up of pneumatic rubber tires having special tread profile on
the rim, which provides stronger grip with the ground achieved on a relatively large area of contact since they
deform more than solid wheels. Also the rubber material itself offers significant vibration damping as well as
strong elasticity, which both ultimately help reducing the decreasing effect of oscillations on the friction. In
addition to that pneumatic tires may work as potential energy accumulators during the backward stroke of the
transmitted force. Later at the beginning of the next forward stroke of the force FT(t), the accumulated energy
may be added to the forward motion of the vehicle. To achieve that effect a special synchronization is required
between the oscillating bodies as suggested by [10]. In summary the properties of the modern pneumatic tires
offer a stable less oscillatory motion and utilize effectively both the positive and negative impulses of the
transmitted force, hence attaining better efficiency and forward speed of the robot vehicle.
Following the above analysis it may be concluded that the maximum friction force between the wheels
and the ground appears to be the limiting factor to both propulsion systems; the conventional torque operated

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Vibration Propulsion of a Mobile Robot

and the proposed one dependent on the inertial forces. In fact the reduced traction of the proposed system does
not affect significantly the forwards motion of the vehicle, hence keeping it moving. Obviously there are always
advantages and disadvantages when analyzing these systems. The advantages of the new propulsion system are
that it does not allow the vehicle to get trapped when moving on soft and unstable off-roads, since there are no
torques on the wheels, hence no slippage may occur. The major benefit is that the system does not require any
complex transmission devices such as conventional manual or automatic gear trains, friction or hydraulic
clutches, differentials, prop shafts etc. Avoiding the use of all these complex and expensive devices will
contribute towards a significant reduction in the production and maintenance cost of these vehicles. Thus the
above advantages make the new propulsion system useful for many military and industrial applications where
the use of robot vehicles is unavoidable. From the disadvantages of the new propulsion system apart from the
low speed it is important to mention the unnecessary vibrations transmitted to the chassis (outer frame).
However they can be reduced by being converted into useful propulsion by employing more-degrees-of-freedom
oscillating system and using pneumatic wheels. As a new propulsion system the proposed one may safer of
some other disadvantages, but the reader should understand that the contemporary vehicles were developed and
improved during the past 130 years when thousands of engineers, technicians and inventors contributed to the
those achievements. Accordingly one should be open-minded to the new propulsion system until it is employed
in real applications and proves working. On the other hand the designers and engineers should be given a chance
to improve the performance, reliability and efficiency of this system by altering the excessive vibrations into
forward propulsion.

IV. Experimental Analysis Of The Robot Vehicle

A number of experiments were conducted with the robot vehicle, mainly on three types of surfaces PVtiles, Tarmac (asphalt) and Cemented (paved). It should be noted that the wheels used in the robot vehicle are
made of hard rubber, they are non-pneumatic, and their surfaces are machined so having no thread on the rim at
all. This situation resembles the state of completely warn over pressurized tiers, which is the poorest case in the
engineering practice. The towing forces were measured by using spring dynamometer furnished with additional
low stiffness high damping spring-like rubber material connected in series to avoid resonance vibrations of the
gauge pointer. To achieve varieties of resonance frequencies of the excitation system within the range of the
motor speed up to 10 tension springs of different stiffness were used as well as three masses were added
consecutively to the oscillating system. The resonance frequencies are measured by using a stroboscopic
tachometer Helios 5003, having a range 250 - 18000 rev/min, manufactured by Branime Manufacturing Ltd,
UK. The frequencies for each resonance conditions were measured in rev/min and converted into a number of
oscillations per second, [Hz]. Every experiment is repeated three times and the average results are displayed in
Table 1, along with the corresponding resonance frequencies. In addition to these parameters the mass ratios
M/MT are also shown on the aforesaid experiments. In Table 1 MT signifies the total mass of the prototype robot
vehicle made up of the mass M of the oscillating system (inner frame), the mass Mo.f. of the chasses (outer
frame) and the mass mw of the wheels.
It should be noted that measuring the resonance frequencies by using a speed tachometer may not be
accurate enough and in the future it is recommended using more sophisticated means in identifying the
parameters of the propulsion system. All the masses including the rotating masses where measured using an
electronic scale type SKWD A1 manufactured by MGG Electro GmbH, Germany, having an accuracy of 1 gr.
It is evident from the table that the highest traction force of 8.5 [N] is obtained on paved (cemented)
surface at frequency of 13.7 [Hz]. Obviously this is due to the higher coefficient of friction offered by the
surface and the wheels, the highest resonance frequency of the excitation system and the appropriate mass ratio.
Table 1 Towing forces, resonance frequencies and type of surfaces. Following the trend of variation of the
towing force it is obvious that the force increases as the frequency and the mass ratio increased.

The high frequencies contribute to both the increased number of positive impulses per unit of time as
well as to the increased magnitudes of these impulses due to the resonance effect. The increased mass of the
oscillating system provides also enhanced transmitted force to the outer frame along with the increased normal
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Vibration Propulsion of a Mobile Robot

reactions on the wheels. The latter increases the static (kinetic) friction force whenever the backstroke of the
transmitted force takes place, hence increasing the towing force. Evidently the static (kinetic) friction force
appears to be the limiting factor of the towing force of the robot vehicle since it hampers the grip with the
ground. However, the difference between the coefficients of friction is not that much so that the robot vehicle
does not losses the motion at all, contrary to the conventional torque driven wheels.

V. Discussion And Conclusions

This paper presents the theoretical and experimental analysis of a vibration propulsion drive for robot
vehicles operating on frictional grounds. Although the new system uses the propulsion effect of inertial forces in
close-to-resonance conditions it does not defy the Newtons laws of motion and the conservation of momentum.
The reason is that the propulsion is based on the static and kinetic friction forces between the wheels and the
ground, similar to any other vehicle known today. The motion is achieved by eliminating either the positive or
negative impulses of the transmitted force and using the propulsion effect of the remaining impulses. The latter
changes the linear momentum of the mechanical system, allowing either forward or backward motion.
The experimental results obtained with a model robot vehicle revealed that a maximum towing force of
up to 8.5 [N] was measured on cemented surface under dry conditions. The ratio of the maximum towing force
to the weight of the model vehicle is estimated to vary from 0.20 at low frequencies to 0.34 at high frequencies,
not taking into consideration the grip between the wheels and the surface in contact. Because of the simplicity of
the proposed design it is evident that the motion of such a vehicle does not require any complex transmission
devices such as conventional friction or hydraulic clutches manual or automatic gear trains, prop-shafts,
differentials, etc. The absence of the said devices makes the vibration propulsion system simple and cheap in
production and easy maintained in practice. Apart of these benefits the wheels of the robot vehicle interact with
the ground differently than the wheels driven by torques as the case is with conventional vehicles. This allows
the new propulsion system to be used on soft and unstable surfaces where conventional drives are propelled with
lots of problems. They require a four-wheel drives or even using special electronically controlled propulsion
system that supply the driving wheels with suitable torques to avoid slippage. Today modern vehicles use
special winter tires having improved grip with snowy-roads and also chains or metal spikes when used on icy
surfaces. The latter approach may also be employed to the new propulsion system improving the grip with the
ground and preventing the backward slippage during the reversed stroke of the transmitted force. As long as this
force is smaller than the kinetic friction force between the wheels and the ground, there will be no slippage and
the motion of the robot will be achieved like pushing the vehicle with a pulsing force.
In the proposed propulsion system all the wheels provide the necessary support but only the forward
stroke of the transmitted force is utilized, which constitute smaller than 50% of energy usage. To fully utilize the
propulsion effect of the force FT(t), it is recommended storing the kinetic energy of the negative impulse into a
potential energy in a system of springs attached between the outer frame and the axes of the wheels. When the
next forward stroke of the same force takes place the potential energy stored in the springs might be converted
into a kinetic energy and added to the forward motion. Therefore a combine effect of more than 75% of the
towing force may be obtained. However the proposed arrangement would increase the requirement for the
degrees of freedom of the oscillating system by converting the mass of the outer frame (chassis) into another
oscillating body [7, 8, and 9]. Apart of the above the proposed modification of the propulsion system would
require an appropriate synchronization between the motions of the oscillating masses in order to achieve
propulsion with an increased velocity and towing force for the same input power as specified by [10]. In
addition to the proposed arrangements it is possible to change the design in a way to achieve either forward or
reversed motion, thus improving the steering of the device. Also a combined torque-vibration propulsion drive
could also be designed therefore combining the advantages of both propulsion systems [7]. The suggested
changes will be developed and investigated after subsequent design modifications. Proper analyses will be
carried out and a selection of the most appropriate design providing better efficiency would be carried out.
Possible fields of application of the proposed vibration drive is to be employed in the propulsion of
small robots moving on friction surfaces and intended for an inspection of weldment and corrosion status of
pipes transporting gas or liquids as well as examining ventilation and air conditioning conduits systems in
industry [11, 12]. Similarly, in order to increase safety, the propulsion device may be also used as a remotely
controlled robot for examining mining tunnels, channels and shafts for the existence of Methane, CO2 and other
harmful or engine exhaust fumes before being handed over to mineworkers for further operation. The proposed
driving system may be used in special military activities like a mini robots intended to identify and destroy land
mines or in searching for enemy activities on the ground. It may be also used for propelling small video-robots
in underground tunnels and animal shelters for scientific studies or real time video observations.
Other possible areas of applications of the new propulsion system may be in wheeled or caterpillar
earthmovers, where the low speed is not a concern but the traction capacity is important [6, 7, 8, 11]. Of course
the use of the vibration propulsion system would require an appropriate increase of the power output to
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Vibration Propulsion of a Mobile Robot

correspond to the intended application. For these machineries the imposed vibrations will help decreasing
considerably the friction forces between the soil and the digging implement therefore reducing the traction
forces required and achieving easy soil excavation and transportation.
In conclusion it is advisable that further design modifications to be undertaken so as to achieve
reversible motion as well as improving the dynamic model and carrying out a precise identification of the
parameters of the mechanical system. These will certainly provide better knowledge of the vibration propulsion
system and make it acting better during applications in practice.

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