Lightweight High Efficiency Electric Motors and Actuators for Low Temperature Mobility and Robotics Applications, Phase I

Space Exploration Vehicles and Lunar Surface Systems require electromechanical systems that are varied and include long life capability, high reliability, high thermal tolerance, high vacuum tolerance, significantly lower mass and volume, higher mass specific power and improved efficiency over the state of practice components/systems. Space, Weight, Power efficiency, and Cost (SWaP-C) are the key performance drivers for most designs. The objective of this proposal is to demonstrate QM Power's high performance motor and actuator technology called Parallel Magnetic Circuit (PMC^TM) that excels at all of those key performance parameters in low temperature lunar environments. PMC motors and actuators have higher power density (over 20% lower weight and volume than alternative high perofrmance electric motors and actuators), higher torque density, run cooler, and operate more efficiently (over 90-94%) over a wider power output range than any known conventional AC or DC motors or actuators. More »