Most wheels that people are used to have a rim. This means that the wheel has a center hub and spokes that connect that center hub to a smooth, outer rim. This rim is what's covered with a rubber tire on an automobile, or what rests on the tracks when talking about a train. A rimless wheel, on the other hand, has the central hub, and the spokes pressing outward from it, but the spokes are not connected to a rim because there is no rim. This means that when the wheel turns, it rests solely on the spokes as it moves.
A rimless wheel's operation isn't very complicated. As the wheel turns, one spoke makes contact with the ground. As the wheel continues to turn, the initial contact pressure is transferred from the first spoke to the second spoke. This creates movement. However, rimless wheels may have more than a single set of spokes. There could be a variety of sets, such as multiple spoked wheels right next to each other, which all turn and drive the vehicle forward. The purpose of the vehicle is taken into account to ensure that its particular sets of spokes accomplish the task.
Rimless wheels combine aspects of two popular forms of locomotion. The first is traditional wheels, which can move quickly over relatively flat surfaces. The other things that rimless wheels imitate are legs, which are adept at moving over rough terrain but which lack the speed of wheels. By putting these things together, rimless wheels can move quicker than legs on flat surfaces, and they can navigate better on rough terrain. This technology is currently being used in machinery for navigating disaster areas, such as the robot named IMPASS.
