For years, it has felt like technology has hit a lull. Most new smartphones feel nearly identical, and the once-hyped promise of virtual and augmented reality has largely fallen flat for consumers. Even Apple’s 2024 Vision headset failed to revive interest, though VR remains valuable in medical fields.
Emerging Innovations Signal a Major Shift
Lately, however, there are signs that a more meaningful shift may be underway. Generative AI has quickly become widespread, far outpacing expectations from when AI seemed distant. At the same time, U.S. military researchers are exploring mind-controlled weapons, and companies like Tesla are nearing the release of humanoid robots for home tasks.
All of this points to a new technological era—and a South Korean company is now literally reinventing the wheel. Its researchers have created a shape-shifting wheel that adapts to terrain, allowing vehicles to overcome obstacles once deemed impossible.
The technology has already been demonstrated successfully, even showing the wheel climbing stairs. According to its creators, the innovation could have widespread applications, from delivery vehicles to robots operating in combat environments.
You might think the wheel has already reached peak efficiency, but imagine one that can actually change its shape to match the ground beneath it. That’s what researchers at the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) have created—a wheel capable of shifting between a firm, rigid form and a softer, more flexible one to handle different types of terrain.
Inspired by water droplet surface tension, the wheel can roll over obstacles 1.3 times its radius.
It accomplishes this by altering the stiffness of the spoke wires inside the wheel. These wires connect the hub to an outer chain that resembles a miniature tank tread. When sensors detect a tough surface, the wheel adjusts its spokes’ stiffness to reshape and traverse the obstacle.
The Physics Guiding KIMM’s Innovation
In August 2024, Science Robotics detailed KIMM’s “variable-stiffness morphing wheel,” explaining that, like droplets, increasing surface cohesion strengthens the inward pull on molecules.
This high surface tension keeps the droplet spherical—an effect the new wheel is designed to imitate.
KIMM’s shape-shifting wheel may lack the flash of robots or AI, but it could greatly enhance wheelchair mobility across diverse surfaces.
To showcase this potential, the team tested the wheels on both a small four-wheel vehicle and a two-wheel wheelchair. Impressively, the prototype wheelchair was able to climb a staircase with 18-centimeter steps while carrying a full-size dummy.
The technology’s usefulness, however, extends well beyond mobility aids. The researchers imagine it being implemented in autonomous delivery machines and even military robots designed for rugged environments. Everyday devices like robotic vacuum cleaners could also see improvements from wheels that adapt to uneven flooring. According to principal researcher Song Sung-hyuk, the long-term objective is to develop morphing wheels capable of operating at speeds up to 62 mph.
Read the original article on: Sciencing
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