Cycloidal reluctance motor with rotor electromagnets

A cycloidal reluctance machine includes a stator surrounding a rotor. Stator windings and rotor windings form respective concentric rotor and stator electromagnets. The rotor is eccentrically positioned with respect to the stator to move with two degrees of freedom (2DOF), including rotating motion about a rotary axis of the rotor and orbiting motion about a center axis of the stator. A rotor constraint mechanism (RCM) constrains motion of the rotor, such that the rotor is able to generate and transmit output torque to a coupled load in at least one of the 2DOF. A magnetic field polarity of stator poles and/or rotor poles of the respective stator and rotor changes over one electrical cycle of the polyphase voltage. The coupled load may be a drive axle of a vehicle in some embodiments. In others, the stator and rotor windings are driven via different power inverters.