[EricH]

Originally Posted by LWS

A good bit of the discussion seems centered on how effective the design is in getting all of those wheels to work (e.g. no chains, etc). The real question it seems is, why have all of those wheels? The only effective answer I have seen so far is to avoid "high centering" when going up ramps.

The common response to all of those wheels is "they would give lots of traction". But will this approach be more effective in doing so than one with fewer wheels? The simple model of friction (which is what traction really is) states that maximum friction force is the coefficient of friction multiplied by the normal force (i.e. the weight pushing down on the wheels). The coefficient is a function of the material of the wheel and the carpet. Assuming that there is a given weight for the robot, this weight would be distributed over the wheels, and if there were more wheels, there is less weight per wheel.

The real reason is that the team wanted a treaded robot without the treads. (As in, the best points of both wheel and tread systems.) We shall see whether they succeeded or not when they compete.