Subject:
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Re: Mechanical question
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.robotics
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Date:
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Mon, 26 Jul 1999 19:55:25 GMT
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Viewed:
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891 times
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In lugnet.robotics, Jon Shemitz writes:
> I've been puzzling over this one, and I still don't really understand
> it: Why can a bot with tank treads do a turn in place, while a bot with
> four wheels geared together so that the front and back wheels on each • [snip]
> Or is it that the wheeled version is concentrating all the sideways
> force at four points, while the treaded version is spreading the same
> force over a much larger area?
You are close here. Tank steering is often called "skid" steering because
tank tracks are optimized for traction parallel to direction travelled and
have little traction in a tangent direction. A look at the tread pattern
will show you why. You only need a skid a little to get the steering to
work, and on a high grip surface (carpet) even your tank tracks will strain
when trying to turn. Wheels on the other hand are OPTIMIZED to NOT allow
sideways motion at all, watching all those Goodyear tire commercials has
convinced me of that!
have fun,
DLC
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Mechanical question
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| I've been puzzling over this one, and I still don't really understand it: Why can a bot with tank treads do a turn in place, while a bot with four wheels geared together so that the front and back wheels on each side always move together can not? My (...) (25 years ago, 26-Jul-99, to lugnet.robotics)
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