IQInetics Technologies is developing a software solution to intrinsic electric motors’ hardware problems. Inexpensive Brushless Direct Current (BLDC) motors have electromagnetic flaws that limit their adoption in industrial and service robotic applications. These industries require precise positioning, advanced trajectory control, and smooth operation which require high-end motors that minimize electromagnetic flaws using high-quality materials and complex hardware designs. Unfortunately, this increases production costs, making them prohibitively expensive for many applications.

The proposed solution will make electric motors precise, efficient, and easily controllable while keeping manufacturing costs low. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to prove the technical feasibility of a new calibration approach to solving electromagnetic and hardware flaws in brushless direct current (BLDC) motors. The technology is based on:

1) embedded position sensors in the motor to collect the position-dependent parameters necessary to generate maps of motors’ electromagnetic flaws;

2) proprietary algorithms that map cogging and mutual torque to vary the input voltage/current, eliminating the negative impact of the respective torque ripple;

3) encoder error correction to eliminate the discrepancies between the true and the measured angular positions of the motor magnets, improving motor calibration and position control.

The research activities in this project may result in the generation and validation of a minimum viable calibration process that integrates all the described components. The ability of the calibration software to minimize the impact of the inherent electromagnetic flaws in low-end BLDC motors and enhance performance will be assessed together with the feasibility of generating an innovative hardware motor configuration specifically designed to reduce manufacturing costs.