Abstract
A new type of the active-caster mechanism is presented in this paper. The new active-caster equips dual-wheels to reduce the steering friction which are driven by a wheel motor via a differential gear mechanism. For maintaining the two-wheel contact to the ground even on the irregular surface, each wheel has an individual suspension. The design enables the mechanism to have a large wheel compared with the single wheel design which contributes to realize high step climbing. The design was embodied by the prototype which shows expected caster motions with high mobility which is suitable for omnidirectional robots and human support systems moving various environments.
