Quote:
Originally posted by M. Krass
As the ball's forward rotation is tied to the omniwheels rotation since they're in powered by the same gearbox, I was wondering how you accounted for any imbalance in losses that might exist. After all, if there are more losses on the ball than there are in the omnwheel, wouldn't it spin slower? ...and then, wouldn't it just be dragging and do nothing to "power" the robot?
Does that make more sense?
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I really don't know. We have no efforts in evaluation yet. Our prototype had casters, not extra omni-drive wheels. Koors is currently on a mission trip to Hati... when he gets back, he may be able to explain this better than I can.
I see the omniwheel as a power boost, and it only helps the ball drive go forward and back with another contact point.
For instance, when the ball hits the ramp grating, the omniwheel gives the frame more power to push up the ramp. Once the robot is level on the ramp again, then all 4 points of contact are again propelling the 'bot.
There is a slight speed imbalance between the balls and the omniwheels... we are not sure how this affects performance. If the speeds/losses were better matched, I am sure that it would run a bit better. At it's current setup, it does run pretty well and I don't think that we are seeing the "stall" problem that you are describing.
Andy B.