A geared spherical electromagnetic machine with two-axis rotation includes an inner frame, an outer frame, a spherical body, a first coil, a second coil, a third coil, a first hemispherical body, a second hemispherical body, a first plurality of inner magnets, a second plurality of inner magnets, a first gearbox, and a second gearbox.

A motor is provided, comprising: a stator having a plurality of electromagnets and a plurality of rolling elements arranged around the electromagnets; a rotor having a plurality of rotor traction components arranged to engage the plurality of rolling elements; and a control circuit, wherein the plurality of rolling elements are arranged relative to the plurality of rotor traction components to form a gap between the plurality of rolling elements and the plurality of rotor traction components; wherein the control circuit is configured to activate the plurality of electromagnets to cause the rotor to pivot about a pivot point defined in a spherical bearing and change the gap such that the rotor compresses against the stator and the plurality of rolling elements and the plurality of rotor traction components translate the compression into tangential thrust and rotation of the rotor.

An electrical system includes an inverter connected to AC and DC voltage buses, a cycloidal electric machine connected to the PIM via the AC voltage bus, and a controller. The machine's rotor is eccentric with respect to the stator, an airgap between the stator and rotor is smaller at an instantaneous center of rotation of the rotor than elsewhere around a circumference of the rotor, and the rotor moves with two degrees of freedom (2DOF), i.e., rotating and orbiting motion. The controller receives a torque command, the rotor position signal, and the current signals, and in response identifies an optimal stator pole or pole pair located proximate the instantaneous center of rotation and energizes the optimal stator pole or pole pair via the PIM prior to energizing another stator pole or pole pair of the stator.

Embodiments of the inventive subject matter are directed to PCB stator motors having radially positioned wheel-based bearings for the rotor, including PCB stator motors that are included in camera stabilizing and control systems. PCB stator motors of the inventive subject matter feature a rotor that creates a slot into which a PCB stator is disposed. Surrounding that rotor is a set of wheels having, e.g., grooves into which an outer edge of the rotor can be disposed. The set of wheels enables the rotor to rotate smoothly as a result of a motor controller activating the PCB stator. In some embodiments, an annular roll motor is accompanied by one or more tilt motors to create a camera system that can, e.g., actively stabilize a camera that is disposed at least partially within the roll motor's interior space.

A wobble plate motor includes a wobble plate and a stator. The wobble plate is made of magnetically susceptible material and has a wobble axis. The stator includes a permanent magnet and a set of electromagnetic coils and has a stator axis. The wobble plate is configured to nutate around the stator with the wobble axis precessing around the stator axis. The wobble plate has a mobile point of closest approach with respect to the stator. The mobile point of closest approach moves around the stator axis as the wobble plate nutates. The permanent magnet and the set of electromagnetic coils are configured to create a magnetic field having a flux density between the stator and the wobble plate with a highest flux density at a mobile location ahead of the mobile point of closest approach in an angular direction around the stator axis as the wobble plate nutates.

A mechanical virtual elliptical drive, including an input motor, a wobble plate, a stator gear, and an output plate. The input motor may have a rotation axis, a substantially flat surface, and a rounded protrusion extending from the flat surface. The wobble plate may have a wobble axis disposed at a non-zero angle relative to the rotation axis. The rounded protrusion of the motor may engage a substantially flat face of the wobble plate, thereby causing the wobble plate to nutate around the stator gear.

The present disclosure provides a compact bionic eye device based on a two-degree-of-freedom electromagnetically-driven rotating mechanism, which can be used as a vision sensor of bionic robots such as humanoid robots. The compact bionic eye device includes a rotor, stator cores, windings, an angular displacement camera, a spherical hinge pressing block, a stator connector, a camera, a spherical hinge, a camera connector, a rotor connector and an outer spherical shell. According to the compact bionic eye device of the present disclosure, the rotor is driven to achieve limited rotation with pitching and yawing degrees of freedom by regulating a current of the windings of four stators. By adopting a two-degree-of-freedom of electromagnetically-driven rotating mechanism which is compact in structure, the bionic eye device of the present disclosure can achieve a human eye size, and provides important foundation for practical application of bionic eyes in humanoid robots.

A motor includes: a stator having a plurality of electromagnets and a plurality of rolling elements arranged around the electromagnets; and a rotor having a plurality of rotor traction components arranged to engage the plurality of rolling elements; and a control circuit. The plurality of rolling elements are arranged relative to the plurality of rotor traction components to form a gap between the plurality of rolling elements and the plurality of rotor traction components. The control circuit is configured to activate the plurality of electromagnets to cause the rotor to pivot about a pivot point defined in a spherical bearing and change the gap such that the rotor compresses against the stator and the plurality of rolling elements and the plurality of rotor traction components translate the compression into tangential thrust and rotation of the rotor.

A bearingless motor includes a rotor, a stator for applying support force and torque to the rotor, and a first displacement sensor and a second displacement sensor for detecting a radial position of the rotor. The stator includes a motor winding for generating a magnetic flux having p poles to produce the torque, and a support winding for generating a magnetic flux having p?2 poles or two poles to produce the support force. The first displacement sensor and the second displacement sensor are disposed at positions axially different from each other.

A stepper motor comprising: a stator and a rotor; a plurality of N greater than two electromagnets mounted to the stator or to the rotor, each of the electromagnets comprising a core having at least one contact surface, wherein the at least one contact surface of any of the cores is rotatable about a same first axis of rotation with a same first radius of rotation into substantial congruence with at least a portion of the at least one contact surface of any other of the electromagnet cores; and a coupling of the rotor to the stator configured to enable rotation of the rotor and contact of the stator and rotor along at least one contact surface during operation of the motor.