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Originally Posted by M. Krass
Square wheels will not provide rotation like that of a disc. The center of rotation does not move linearly, but in a cam motion -- a bit like a spiral, but not repetitive. Whegs, which I assume is a combination of wheels and legs, might appear to create circular motion as well, but in reality would form a similar cam-like path. The whegs simply rotate fast enough to minimize the time the machine has to fall between legs. The faster they spin, the less 'bump' their appears to be.
The 'square-wheeled' machine moves due to a shift in its center of mass and thus, requires specially designed wheels to the shift of mass causes each corner of the robot to fall sequentially.
I can't imagine how this would be useful to a FIRST machine at first glance
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sorry I misread part of the article. The idea behind this is not just the square wheels but the fact that no motor is directly driving them. All motion of the wheels is accomplished though shifting the weight of the robot and a little help from gravity. The idea applies in that you can control multiple objects (and with more things then just wheels) without direct contact. Imagine designing a drive train that changes gear ratio when tipped. Sorry about the fixation on the wheels.