Smooth skipping and rolo-skip electrical motors

A skipper motor comprising:

• a stator and a rotor;
• a plurality of at least three electromagnets mounted to one of the stator or the rotor, each of the plurality of the at least three electromagnets comprising a ferromagnetic core having at least one contact surface, wherein the stator or rotor has an axis of rotational symmetry about which axis of rotational symmetry the stator or rotor is rotatable so that the at least one contact surface of any of the plurality of ferromagnetic cores rotates to substantially congruently locate to at least a portion of a location of the at least one contact surface of any other of the plurality of ferromagnetic cores;
• a coupling of the rotor to the stator configured to enable rotation of the rotor relative to the stator and contact of the stator and rotor along a contact surface of the at least one contact surface of an electromagnet of the plurality of at least three electromagnets during operation of the motor;
• and
• a controller operable to energize electromagnets of the plurality of electromagnets to cause the rotor to rotate from a first to a second motor state of the skipper motor;
• wherein, in the first motor state the stator and rotor contact along a first pair of contact surfaces comprising a contact surface of the at least one contact surface from each ferromagnetic core of first and second rotationally adjacent electromagnets of the plurality of at least three electromagnets mounted to the stator or rotor and matching surface regions of the rotor or stator respectively, and in the second motor state the stator and rotor are in contact along a second pair of contact surfaces comprising a contact surface of the at least one contact surface from each ferromagnetic core of the first electromagnet and a third electromagnet of the plurality of at least three electromagnets that is rotationally adjacent the first electromagnet and matching surface regions of the rotor or stator respectively;
• and
• to initiate rotation from the first to the second motor state the controller simultaneously energizes the first and third electromagnets with respective first and third currents so that magnetic flux generated in the ferromagnetic core of the third electromagnet substantially cancels magnetic flux generated in the ferromagnetic core of the second electromagnet by energization of the third electromagnet.