Service RobotsA Tire Changing Manipulator

Overview

The robotic System changes the tires of Formula 1 type cars.

Considerations: Speed, Accuracy, Safety. The system consists of four arms (one arm per tire), each

changes a tire at a time. The arm removes the used tire and replaces it with the new one.

A fifth arm is designed to fill the car with gas, its design differs considerably from the other four.

All the five arms are to be controlled by a hardware dedicated LAN, consisting of one computer per robot arm plus a server and a general analyser.

Design and Construction

A prototype of the racing car :

The “one screw” tire style simplifies the problem considerably.

The four holes facilitate the manipulation of the tire and the screwing/unscrewing process.

Design and Construction

Design and Construction The manipulator will

be of the depicted form. The design was derived from inertial and dextrousity calcuations

Three essential Components: the sliding mechanisn, the arm, and the end effector system.

Design and Construction

All of the four arms should be suspended with the visualized sliding mechanism.

Design and Construction

The end effector is designed to support the tire replacement task.

Design and Construction

The third gripper style facilitates the replacement task via the four metal tube.

Current Status

The design and simulation have been done. Equations of inertia, vibrations, torques,

and forward kinematics are used. Appropriate arm materials are being considered.

Key Advantages

This type of robotic system would replace the team required at each pit stop.

The risk factor will be reduced significantly. Races will be more fair. Arms will change tires on

different model cars within an estimated 0.3 second tolerance variance.

Dependance on team accuracy and training is eliminated.

The cost of this system is lower than the current team-based systems.

Next Steps

Presentations of the project have to be made, and further discussions regarding Formula 1 regulations and enforcements have to take place.

The fifth arm still has to be designed and integrated.