This paper presents a feasibility study of an in-wheel magnetic-geared motor for walking support machines. The proposed magnetic-geared motor consists of an axial-gap permanent magnet (PM) motor and a magnetic gear. Axial-gap PM motors generally have larger torque than conventional radial-gap motors when their structures are flat like those in in-wheel motors. Moreover, the axial-gap PM motor was combined with magnetic gears since the in-wheel motor requires further large torque at low speed. The characteristics and usefulness of the proposed magnetic-geared motor are demonstrated through experiments and analysis conducted using finite element method (FEM).

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