A novel design of wheel-propeller based aerial-ground amphibious transportation platform AITranslate
Abstract AITranslate
Benefiting from the synergistic integration of aerial agility and terrestrial endurance, aerial-ground amphibious platforms can effectively traverse unstructured environments, demonstrating considerable potential for emergency response and reconnaissance applications. However, most existing systems adopt a decoupled configuration, utilizing independent propulsion units for ground and aerial modes. Although this approach enables dual-domain operation, the duplicated actuators and transmission chains inevitably incur structural redundancy and additional mass, which reduce overall system integration and payload efficiency. To address these limitations, this paper proposes a novel aerial-ground amphibious platform based on an integrated wheel-propeller structure. In the proposed design, a single electric motor actuates both the wheel and ducted propeller through a shared powertrain, where an electromagnetic clutch selectively engages the transmission path to switch between terrestrial locomotion and aerial propulsion. Building upon this mechanism, an amphibious platform configuration incorporating eight-wheel-propeller units is developed. By establishing a dynamic simulation model of the platform, the dynamic response characteristics during the drive-to-fly transition were investigated. The results demonstrate the feasibility of the operational principle underpinning the platform. The research provides a feasible technical approach for lightweight and highly integrated aerial-ground platforms, laying the foundation for future experimental implementation.
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Basic Information:
DOI：10.23919/CHAIN.2026.000010
Chinese Library Classification Number:
Citation Information:
Benefiting from the synergistic integration of aerial agility and terrestrial endurance, aerial-ground amphibious platforms can effectively traverse unstructured environments, demonstrating considerable potential for emergency response and reconnaissance applications. However, most existing systems adopt a decoupled configuration, utilizing independent propulsion units for ground and aerial modes. Although this approach enables dual-domain operation, the duplicated actuators and transmission chains inevitably incur structural redundancy and additional mass, which reduce overall system integration and payload efficiency. To address these limitations, this paper proposes a novel aerial-ground amphibious platform based on an integrated wheel-propeller structure. In the proposed design, a single electric motor actuates both the wheel and ducted propeller through a shared powertrain, where an electromagnetic clutch selectively engages the transmission path to switch between terrestrial locomotion and aerial propulsion. Building upon this mechanism, an amphibious platform configuration incorporating eight-wheel-propeller units is developed. By establishing a dynamic simulation model of the platform, the dynamic response characteristics during the drive-to-fly transition were investigated. The results demonstrate the feasibility of the operational principle underpinning the platform. The research provides a feasible technical approach for lightweight and highly integrated aerial-ground platforms, laying the foundation for future experimental implementation.
quote
| GB/T 7714-2015 | [1] Peng Dong, Wantong Zhao, He Zou, et al. A novel design of wheel-propeller based aerial-ground amphibious transportation platform[J]. Chain, 2026, 3(2): 204-213. DOI:10.23919/CHAIN.2026.000010. |
| MLA | [1] Peng Dong, et al., "A novel design of wheel-propeller based aerial-ground amphibious transportation platform." Chain, vol. 3, no. 2, 2026, pp. 204-213, https://doi.org/10.23919/CHAIN.2026.000010. |
| APA | [1] Peng Dong, Wantong Zhao, He Zou, Rongze Yi, Cunhao Zhang, Haiying Lin, Huijun Yue, & Junbin Lai. (2026). A novel design of wheel-propeller based aerial-ground amphibious transportation platform. Chain, 3(2), 204-213. https://doi.org/10.23919/CHAIN.2026.000010 |
| IEEE | [1] Peng Dong, Wantong Zhao, He Zou, Rongze Yi, Cunhao Zhang, Haiying Lin, Huijun Yue, and Junbin Lai, "A novel design of wheel-propeller based aerial-ground amphibious transportation platform," Chain, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 204-213, 2026, doi: 10.23919/CHAIN.2026.000010. keywords: {aerial-ground amphibious transportation platform;electromagnetic clutches;multimodal locomotion;wheel-propeller structure} |