but the longitudinal vectors cancel out. A mix of differential wheel motions will allow for vehicle motion in almost any direction with any rotation. Use The US Navy bought the patent from Ilon and put researchers to work on it in the 1980s in Panama City, Florida. The US Navy has used it for transporting items around ships. In 1997, Airtrax Incorporated and several other companies each paid the US Navy $2,500 for rights to the technology, including old drawings of how the motors and controllers worked, to build an omnidirectional forklift truck that could maneuver in tight spaces such as the deck of an aircraft carrier. These vehicles are now in production. Tracked vehicles and skid steer vehicles utilize similar methods for turning. However, these vehicles typically drag across the ground while turning and may do considerable damage to a soft or fragile surface. The high friction against the ground while turning also requires high-torque engines to overcome the friction. By comparison, the design of the Mecanum wheel allows for in-place rotation with minimal ground friction and low torque. One of the most prominent youth robotics organizations in the world, FIRST Tech Challenge, is one of the most wide use cases for Mecanum wheels. FTC teams need to move efficiently on the field in order to score the most points possible, so many teams have adapted Mecanum wheels from suppliers such as Nexus and GoBilda. See also Ball transfer unit Omni wheel References External links Airtrax video Orlando Business Journal article Omnics' wheel of fortune rolls into production by Chad Eric Watt, 31 May 2002. The Wall Street Journal online Make It by Paulette Thomas, 9 May 2005. Video of a wheel chair with Mecanum wheels (WMV). The wheel chair was presented at the 2006 EVER Monaco. Segway RMP Photos of a 2008 Segway robot with Mecanum wheels. CMU's "Tessellator" robot designed in 1992 for servicing Space Shuttle tiles used Mecanum wheels. CMU URANUS Mobile Robot, the first mobile robot with Mecanum wheels built in 1985 and used for two decades for autonomous navigation research. Swedish inventions Mechanisms (engineering) Wheels 1973 introductions