DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF THREE WHEEL SEGWAY

UNDER THE ESTEEMED GUIDENCE OF

Mr. G. SANJEEV KUMAR

(Asst. Professor)

SUBMITTED BY

SHIVA KALYAN V 18WJ1A03K4

SHARATH KUMAR T 18WJ1A03L7
SADMAN SAKIB AZAD 18WJ1A03P4

DEPATMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

GURU NANAK INSTITUTIONS TECHNICAL CAMPUS
(AUTONOMOUS)
 ABSTARCT
This project deals with design and analysis of an electrically powered stand up scooter called three-wheel
Segway which has more degree of freedom than normal vehicles and can be used as a personal transporter
in urban environment.
Most commonly used Segway is the two-wheel self-balancing Segway, which is known for its zero turn
radius. The three-wheel version can move just like the 2-wheeld one. The only difference is that, it replaces
complex electronics like accelerometer and gyro with a simple swivel wheel (the third wheel) making it
more stable, economical and fail-safe.

This vehicle uses two driver wheels to control the motion and a swivel wheel for balance. The vehicle
uses differential drive, skid steering mechanism and electro dynamic braking with two independently
controlled DC motors.
The third wheel can obstruct the smooth movement of the Segway. However this can be minimized by
providing a simple spring suspension for the third wheel.

The designing software is used for Segway is CATIA V5. The analysis will be done in ANSYS software
to find the stress ans strain and deformation of three wheel Segway.
 SEGWAY

A Segway is an electrically powered standup scooter with higher degree of freedom than normal
vehicles and mostly used for personal transportation in urban environment. This was invented by Dean
L. Kamen, an American entrepreneur and first produced by Segway
Inc. of New Hampshire.
 
Segways have had success in niche markets such as transportation for police departments, military bases,
warehouses, corporate campuses and industrial sites. The legal roadworthiness of the Segway varies with
different jurisdictions classification of the device as a motor vehicle.
 
There are many variants available in Segways. However, the most popular and commonly used ones are
the two wheeled segways, known as the Segway PT. It is an electric, self- balancing human transporter
with a computer-controlled gyroscopic stabilization and control system. The device is balanced on two
parallel wheels and is controlled by moving body weight.
 
 
Two wheeled Segway
 Principle of working

Computers, sensors, and electric motors in the base of the Segway PT keep the
device upright when powered on with balancing enabled. The rider commands the
PT to go forward or backward by shifting their weight forward or backward on the
platform. The PT uses gyroscopic sensors and accelerometer-based leveling sensors
to detect the resulting changes in its pitch angle and, to maintain balance, it drives its
wheels forward or backward as needed to return its pitch to upright. In the process,
the rider establishes and then maintains a desired speed by modulating the extent and
duration of their fore/aft weight shifts.
 
To turn and steer, the rider shifts the handlebar to the left or right. The PT responds by
adjusting the speeds of the wheels in opposite directions causing the PT to yaw and, if
not traveling forward or backward, turn in place. At speed, the amount of shift of the
handlebar corresponds to the amount of left or right lean required by the rider to
balance themselves on the platform during a turn.
Acceleration Mechanism of Segway
 Advantages

Segway personal transporter has many advantages over the conventional vehicles,
because of its higher degree of freedom and compact design.
Some of the major advantages of a Segway over the conventional vehicles are:
 
 Higher degree of freedom: A Segway has more degrees of freedom
than normal vehicles. It can be steered and controlled more precisely
than the conventional vehicles with mechanical steering.
 Zero turn radius: It is a very interesting property of Segway PT. Zero
turn radius helps the vehicle to turn about its own axis. This helps the
Segway to steer through very narrow spaces very easily.
 Low operating costs: The operating costs of a Segway are much
lower than the conventional vehicles, which makes it economical to
use.
 Zero emissions: Since, Segway is electrically powered; there are no
emissions from the vehicle that could affect the environment. However, it
does draw electricity during recharge, but that electricity is fourteen times
less greenhouse gas emissions than a conventional IC engine powered
vehicle.
 Comparison: Regular turning and Zero radius turning
 
 The Problem Statement

The complex electronics like accelerometers, gyroscopic sensors and highly

accurate control system makes the Segway highly expensive.
The Segway also requires regular technical maintenance. If not maintained
properly, any failure in the electronics makes it unstable and may lead to serious
accidents.
So, the aim of this project centers around the concept of making a Segway type
standup scooter that is Economical, Reliable, Stable and Fail-safe.
 The Solution

The simplest answer to this problem could be just adding the third wheel (a swivel wheel) which
eliminates all the complicated and costly electronics that balance the Segway making the Segway more
stable, economical and failsafe.

The Concept of third wheel.

 Advantages of three wheel Segway

 Stability: The third wheel increases the stability of the vehicle. Even in low
battery conditions and sudden electronics failure the vehicle remains
absolutely stable unlike the two-wheel Segway.
 
 Easy Riding: As the three-wheel Segway does not involve gyroscopic
sensors and accelerometers. It eliminates the complex riding mechanism of
two-wheel Segway and makes the vehicles easy to ride even for the new
users.
 
 Easy Reversing: Direct reversing was a big problem in a two-wheel
Segway. Reversing the Segway directly is not a comfortable task for the
rider on a two-wheel Segway. The stability in a three-wheel Segway makes
the reversing easy and comfortable for the rider.
  Economical: As the third wheel eliminates the complex electronics
like accelerometers, gyroscopic sensors and highly accurate control
system it reduces the cost of the Segway by many times, making more
economical and affordable.
 
 Less Maintenance: three-wheel Segway eliminates self-balancing
sensors and other steering equipment that requires regular
maintenance. So, this reduces the maintenance time and cost to great
extent, making it much user friendly.
 
 Fail-Safe: In the case of three-wheel Segway Sudden failure in the
control system or problems in electronics can cause the Segway to lose
its balance completely and can lead to severe accidents. This is not the
case with three-wheel Segway which does not lose its balance remains
stable under any failure of electronics. The failsafe feature of the three-
wheel Segway makes it more reliable than the two-wheeled one.
 
All these reasons give the three-wheel Segway technical and commercial
advantages to complete with the two-wheel Segway.
 Effect of the 3rd wheel on the motion of Segway

The addition of the third wheel should not disturb the regular motion of the Segway. The
purpose of the third wheel is just to provide balance to the Segway and it should not have any
effect on the steering of the vehicle.

The wheel should freely rotate in the direction of the movement given by the two driver
wheels, without disturbing the required motion. This can be done by using a high quality 360˚
swivel wheel with a good quality double bearing system.

360˚ swivel wheel with double bearing

 
So, by adding this swivel it just turns in the direction given by the driver
wheels and not disturbing the skid steering mechanism.
The Fig shows how the third wheel turns according to direction of steering
and not causing any disturbance to the steering.

The third wheel rotating in the direction the steering

 
 
 Disadvantage of the third wheel
 
The swivel wheels are generally rigid in nature unlike the pneumatic tires. So,
when any obstacle comes in the way of the third wheel there are chances that the
wheel gets stuck and obstructs the motion of the Segway.
This third wheel can also cause unnecessary vibrations and noise while travelling
on rough terrain.

Overcoming the disadvantage

 

This disadvantage of the 3rd wheel can be minimized by adding Suspension to the swivel
wheel. By Adding a spring suspension the vibrations are absorbed. This reduces the
vibrations noise during the operation.
This also allows the wheel to move over the small obstacles allowing the Segway to move
smoothly, making it comfortable for the rider.
 Applications

A Segway is as accurate as human walking and as fast as conventional vehicles. This makes it
special with wide range of applications where accurate mobility is needed. Some of the
applications are given below.
 Urban police patrol: Since its inception, the Segway Patroller has been readily
deployed by law enforcement and private security agencies across the globe. Patrol
all sorts of indoor and outdoor environments while better connecting with the
citizens.
 Military: Because of its high degree of freedom and accuracy Segway finds its
applications in military.
 Logistics: Equipped with optional hard cases the Segway PT is the ideal transport
vehicle for corporate use on ample premises, for example airports, train stations,
large warehouses - or for increased mobility on hospital grounds.
 Off road riding: Segway PT makes off road riding much easier than with
conventional vehicles.
 Sports coverage Cameramen: In recent times the popularity of Segway in sports coverage has been
tremendous. Its free and higher degree of freedom helps the camera men to cover the sport in various angles
without using any complicated equipment.
 Urban sight-seeing: Segways are been used in many countries to attract the tourists for sightseeing.
Sightseeing on Segway makes the mobility easy and the experience more comfortable.

Applications of Segway PT