Enhanced Omni-Ball: Spherical Omnidirectional Wheel Achieving Passive Rollers with High Load Capacity and Smoothness through an Offset Rotational Axis

This paper introduces an innovation of the Spherical Omnidirectional Wheel, designed to achieve omnidirectional driving motion. In previous models, the supporting shaft was placed at the center of the mechanism. However, achieving both smoothness and high load-capacity in such designs proved challenging. The mechanism proposed in this study features an offset design, enabling outer support for the wheel. A prototype was developed and its basic motion was experimentally validated.