Systems and methods for braking or propelling a roaming vehicle

A method, comprising:

• receiving, via a control system, information related to one or more roaming vehicles disposed on a running surface of a surface stator matrix, wherein the surface stator matrix comprises a plurality of single sided linear induction motors (SSLIMs), each SSLIM of the plurality of SSLIMs including two windings arranged orthogonal to each other, and the one or more roaming vehicles comprise a non-ferrous reaction plate attached to a bottom of each respective roaming vehicle of the one or more roaming vehicles;
• receiving, via the control system, a desired motion profile for the one or more roaming vehicles across the surface stator matrix;
• determining, via the control system, a selection of the plurality of SSLIMs to activate and a performance of the selection of the plurality of SSLIMs based on the desired motion profile, the information, or some combination thereof;
• and
• sending, via the control system, control signals to the plurality of motor drives to control the selection of the plurality of SSLIMs to produce the desired motion profile, wherein the plurality of motor drives controls the plurality of SSLIMs to produce the desired motion profile by activating a subset of the plurality of SSLIMs underneath the reaction plate in time to generate a thrust vector in the reaction plate that causes the one or more roaming vehicles to follow a path specified by the desired motion profile as the one or more roaming vehicles traverse the running surface.

A propulsion system, comprising:

• a control system that:
• receives information related to one or more roaming vehicles disposed on a running surface of a surface stator matrix, wherein the surface stator matrix comprises a plurality of single sided linear induction motors (SSLIMs), each SSLIM of the plurality of SSLIMs including two windings arranged orthogonal to each other, and the one or more roaming vehicles comprise a non-ferrous reaction plate attached to a bottom of each respective roaming vehicle of the one or more roaming vehicles;
• receives a desired motion profile for the one or more roaming vehicles across the surface stator matrix;
• determines which of the plurality of SSLIMs to activate and a performance of the plurality of SSLIMs based on the desired motion profile, the information, or some combination thereof;
• and
• sends control signals to a plurality of motor drives to control the plurality of SSLIMs to produce the desired motion profile, such that the plurality of motor drives controls the plurality of SSLIMs to produce the desired motion profile by activating a subset of the plurality of SSLIMs underneath the reaction plate in time to generate a thrust vector in the reaction plate that causes the one or more roaming vehicles to follow a path specified by the desired motion profile as the one or more roaming vehicles traverse the running surface.