Ewerton Ickowzcy, Takeshi Aoki, and Shigeo Hirose

Abstract:
This paper discusses the development of a new type of personal vehicle designed specially for rough-terrain applications. The selection of suitable shapes and mechanisms for such a vehicle is addressed; a threewheeled configuration which maintains the horizontal posture of the vehicle¡Çs passenger in rough terrain is proposed, and different possibilities of implementation are investigated. Experiments with a full-scale prototype of the vehicle are presented.

Keywords: personal vehicle, rough terrain, mechanism design, posture control, three-wheeled vehicle