SWIMMING VEHICLE FROM SWEDEN
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A PROTOTYPE cross-country vehicle able to ford deep streams and negotiate gradients with its floor completely level has been developed for experimental purposes by the Swedish National Defence Research Institute.
Each of the vehicle's four wheels is fixed to an arm, 500mm (19.7in) long, which can be rotated through 360° in either direction. The driver can raise or lower the machine by the simple expedient of extending the arms rigidly upwards or downwards. The body of the vehicle — it has a separate cab and trailer — allows both halves to be turned 300 laterally and 15° longitudinally.
The prototype is powered by a 48kW (65bhp) petrol engine which also drives two hydraulic pumps. These pumps supply oil under pressure to a series of four hydraulic motors, each of which powers one of the rotatable arms. Hydraulic steering allows the vehicle's centre of gravity to be shifted as and when required, thus facilitating reversing.
If the wheels on one side are raised and those on the other lowered, the vehicle can be driven across a gradient of up to 25° with its floor completely level. If all the wheels are extended, it is claimed that the machine can be used to ford streams.
The prototype — dubbed the "X-musen" (the X-mouse) — can operate with either twoor four-wheel-drive with a top road speed of 50km /h (31mph).