Since the invention of the wheel in Uruk, Mesopotamia, the wheel has been used to power everything from carts to sports cars with remarkably little fundamental change. However, this is about to change after an inventor unveiled a plan to reinvent the wheel for the first time in 5,500 years.
Introducing the SurfacePlan Wheel Concept
A Denver-based inventor, David Henson, has come up with a SurfacePlanTM wheel concept. This is a direct-push system where precision actuators are embedded directly at the tire surface. The piston-like rods push against the road surface to push the wheel forward. This direct-push system could eliminate the need for traditional drivetrains.
“Why move a piston to move a shaft to move a gear to turn a wheel,” Henson asks, “when you can apply the thrust exactly where it’s needed?”
According to Henson, this innovation could be a breakthrough in control, efficiency and design flexibility.
How It Works
Henson likened the SurfacePlan wheel concept to the classic “pin art” desk toy where hundred of tiny pins move independently forming shapes. In his concept, each pin becomes a powered actuator and they all push into the road in synchronization.
Based on preliminary estimates, the setup could make it possible to eliminate engines, transmissions and drive shafts. This could reduce the weight of a vehicle by 50-75%. The setup could also improve efficiency by eliminating the conversion losses of traditional drivetrains. It would also enhance adaptive traction control through programmable tire treads. Lastly, it could lead to new vehicle architecture including lightweight single-passenger pods that can be linked together.
Potential Advantages, Big Questions
If the SurfacePlan wheel is successfully implemented, it could make vehicles lighter, easier to maintain and cheaper to build because fewer moving part would be required. This could even lead to new car designs that do not require engines and gearboxes.
However, experts have raised serious concerns. Unlike traditional drivetrains which deliver torque directly from the axle, Henson’s actuators would apply downward force. This could create thrust and lift at the same time. Therefore, instead of enhancing traction, it would actually reduce it.
Engineering Challenges
According to engineers, although the concept is innovative, here are possible challenges that could make it difficult for real-world adoption:
- It would be difficult for the actuators to operate smoothly over years of use, considering that they extend and retract thousands of times in harsh conditions such as mud, grit, rain, and road salt.
- The system would demand a lot of energy for dozens of actuators per wheel to retract and extend continuously and powerfully to propel the wheels.
- Manufacturing and maintaining the wheels could be more complex and expensive compared to traditional wheels.
- Ensuring stability at highway speeds would be difficult for this new design.
Seeking Automakers, Engineers, and Investors
Henson’s SurfacePlan is only a provisional patent backed by AI-assisted renderings and early technical outlines. To carry out more experiments and see if the system is viable, Henson has launched a WeFunder campaign to attract investors and partners.
“This could live at Tesla, GM, Ford, Rivian, Toyota, or Volkswagen,” he says. “It could be advanced by an engineering school willing to share in the IP — or maybe Apple Computer wants to make the wheel. But I’m not an insider in the auto or EV world. I’m just the guy with the idea, a provisional patent, and a clock ticking.”
He is also inviting tech companies, venture capital firms, and automakers to join hands in testing whether the system can be applicable in real-world scenarios.
Reinventing the Oldest Invention
The wheel is considered one of humanity’s most important and successful innovations, especially in the transportation sector. Henson’s ambitious concept is a daring rethinking of a concept that most people have assumed as final.
For now, Henson’s concept is just an ambitious thinking and not yet a reality.
“Forget knocking on doors. Somewhere out there is the right person to recognize that this isn’t incremental improvement — it’s transportation reimagined,” says Henson. Whether the concept becomes a reality or remains a dream will depend on whether automakers and innovators will be bold enough to embrace the idea and try it out.