Centerless wheel assembly

A wheel assembly comprising:

• first and second exoskeleton plates, wherein the first and second exoskeleton plates are spaced apart and have generally circular configurations;
• a roller guide assembly, wherein the roller guide assembly includes:
• a plurality of bearings;
• a roller guide with a first profile including a first gap, the roller guide coupled with the plurality of bearings;
• and
• a shaft spanning the first and second exoskeleton plates and coupled with the roller guide such that the shaft is an axle for the roller guide and the bearings facilitate rotation of the roller guide about the shaft;
• a tire;
• a centerless rim coupled with the tire, the centerless rim configured to have a shape that corresponds to a shape of the roller guide and a rim profile that corresponds to the first profile, the rim profile including a rail that corresponds to the first gap while leaving a second gap between a peak of the rail and the roller guide, wherein the roller guide is configured to roll along the centerless rim as the centerless rim rotates, and to maintain the second gap unless the centerless rim oscillates;
• and
• an expansion bushing coupled to the first and second exoskeleton plates and configured to maintain the first and second exoskeleton plates in a target configuration such that the centerless rim and the roller guide maintain contact despite expansion or contraction of the first and second exoskeleton plates.

A system, comprising:

• a wheel assembly comprising:
• an exoskeleton plate;
• a roller guide assembly, wherein the roller guide assembly includes:
• a plurality of bearings;
• a roller guide coupled with the plurality of bearings;
• a shaft coupled to the exoskeleton plate and coupled with the roller guide such that the shaft is an axle for the roller guide and the bearings facilitate rotation of the roller guide about the shaft;
• and
• a first sensor disposed on the roller guide;
• a tire;
• a centerless rim coupled with the tire, the centerless rim configured to have a shape that corresponds to a shape of the roller guide, wherein the roller guide is configured to roll along the centerless rim as the centerless rim rotate;
• a second sensor disposed on the centerless rim or the tire;
• a motor;
• and
• a computing device communicatively coupled to the motor, the first sensor, and the second sensor, and configured to monitor the first sensor and the second sensor and to adjust the power delivered to the motor based on a comparison of readings of the first sensor and the second sensor.