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oneangrydwarf is correct that humidity would help dissipate the the charge. Which means that events in dry regions (like where winter RH is below 30%) will have more problems with this than warmer and damper areas.
Charge is built up when the robot's wheels rub against the HDPE and electrons are transfered between the materials' surfaces. Having a wood or metal support frame shouldn't make difference in the charge on the HDPE since it isn't a conductor. I think that if the wire mesh ramps were grounded they might take some of the charge off the robots though.
It's worth noting that our robots will pick up a charge on the carpet, too. I think we see more of a problem with the HDPE because, being a continuous surface, the robot makes more contact with it (than carpet) and therefore transfers more charge.
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