Papers by Author: Jean Christophe Fauroux

Abstract: We present a study of the feasibility of controlling the pitch angle of a high velocity ground vehicle in ballistic phase by accelerating or decelerating its wheels. The vehicle performed several jumps, and various wheel acceleration commands were sent to it while it was airborne. Images were recorded using a high-speed video camera, and the trajectories of markers placed on the vehicle were analyzed in order to measure the relationship between the changes in angular velocities of the chassis and the wheels. It appeared that it was possible to achieve pitch righting through the modification of the angular velocities of the wheels with adequate performance, thus opening the road towards automated control of pitch, then later yaw and roll angles.

Abstract: Fast wheeled motion on unstructured grounds requires highly efficient suspensions that damp shocks vertically but also horizontally, which is an original contribution of the author. This work describes nine 2D and 3D kinematics, most of them with parallel structure, that are suitable for guiding a wheel and providing simultaneous damping in two directions. Steering and power transmission are also included in the most advanced variants, that were previously patented. Both structural and dimensional synthesis are presented, with a kinematic description of each system. A real implementation at a small scale is also described.