When it comes to transportation, we have always stuck to one direction, forward. In the movies and dreams of the future, the human race goes beyond this and creates vehicles which can go forward, back, up and down without any difficulty. That future may be one step closer thanks to a Canadian developer who has created the very first solo omnidirectional wheel.
The creator of the omnidirectional wheel, William Liddiard, shared the latest video showcasing the technology proves that there isn’t anything we can’t reach when we dream. Unlike other omnidirectional wheels, which typically require modification to the vehicle, these bolt on to the vehicle offering everyone a chance to use them.
While only a prototype, Liddiard hopes to sell the design to a large scale company to begin commercial development of the designs soon. The designs aren’t perfect, though, with the speed of the vehicle slowed by the ability to move in any direction.
If you’ve ever had trouble parallel parking, you’ll probably want to invest in a set of these when they come out in the future. Our next question is how much more difficult would it be more self-driving cars and pods to adopt these wheels to enable fluid 360-degree movement within tight spaces?
That video is so sped up holy crap, must’ve taken hours just to turn 45 degrees.