Hovering FRC Robots
 

I'm sure you guys have all seen the Hendo Hoverboard in the NY Times recently. Its a fantastic piece of technology and FRC Team 649 got a chance to get up close and personal with it and hover the very first FRC Robot!

Hoverboard robots will never fly with the GDC, but in the mean time our 2013 robot Tobiko (Flying Fish in Japanese) has finally decided to live up to her name, hovering like the discs she shoots!

Special thanks to our friends at Arx Pax and Hendo Hoverboard for making this a reality.

Teaser: Team 649xHendo: http://youtu.be/I9O4O6JDQig

Re: Hovering FRC Robots
 

That really cool, I'm interested to see how they'd drive with defenders on them, I'm guessing they could maneuver similar to a mecanum drive

Re: Hovering FRC Robots
 

The problem with hendo in this use, other than the copper floor requirement, is that AFAIK it can only be used to make things hover, it can't really be used for propulsion. It works by creating a magnetic field with the copper, and as the copper is flat, the field is only going to push up, normal to the surface of the copper.

Re: Hovering FRC Robots
 

Nope! I had a chance to see propulsion using the Arx Pax MFA (Magnetic Field Architecture) at their lab :) Its just a matter of how you shape the field, think of it this was, if the field is stronger on one end it can control propulsion by tilting and then driving the object (robot) forward.

Re: Hovering FRC Robots
 

Time for pit lanes and standard pit carts at CMP ;)

Re: Hovering FRC Robots
 

Sweet. What's the efficiency for moving a distance versus just wheeling?

Re: Hovering FRC Robots
 

Read Andy Grady's piece on the Placebo. Pay special attention to the 1996 version...

...then tell me that hoverbots will never fly with the GDC.

Re: Hovering FRC Robots
 

Currently the system runs about 40kwatts/kg just for floating. Movement will come through shifting you center of mass to tilt the board, so, if I understand correctly, no extra energy in terms of the hover engine itself (you will of course have to find a way to move your COM). Basically, in terms of speed, availability, and efficiency, wheels still have the upper hand. Itll be a while before hover engines will be reasonable for long time periods.

But it floats so all these criteria are thrown out the window and hoverboard wins again.

EDIT: Apparently you can also change the strength of either engine to move too