Development of Quasi-Direct Drive Motor for Walking Robots in Extraterrestrial Environments
Jonas Eisenmenger, Zhongqian Zhao, Frank Kirchner
In Proceedings of the 14th EASN International Conference on "Innovation in Aviation & Space towards sustainability today & tomorrow", 8.10.-11.10.2024, Thessaloniki, MDPI, series Engineering Proceedings, volume 90, number 1, Apr/2025.
Abstract
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This paper presents the development of a quasi-direct drive motor for space applica-tions, which offers opportunities for dynamic applications, such as in walking robots. The use of such a motor in a space environment presents new challenges that make it necessary to go beyond the conventional design for terrestrial applications. To achieve this, the DFKI-X2D joint was developed as part of the MODKOM project. As an ap-proach, an in-runner and an out-runner motor are developed as prototypes and sub-jected to several functional tests, including tests on a motor test bench, in a climate chamber, and via vibration tests. During these tests, the in-runner approach showed advantages, especially in thermal terms, and based on the findings, a final iteration was designed as the space version, which will undergo additional environmental test-ing in the future to move towards TRL 5.
Links:
https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4591/90/1/99/pdf