And you thought you had cool omni-wheels

[RogerR]

<grumble> second time i typed this...$#%! jumpy touchpad</grumble>

Originally Posted by George1083

...However, we know that the robot can strafe sideways. Therefore our assumption is false.

Originally Posted by George1083

The mecanum wheels do not put 100% of the power forward. They behave just like regular omnis at 45* angles. You get a maximum of 71% [1/sqrt(2) as Warren put it] power by moving forward, reverse, left, or right.

assume that the robot is going forward, and the wheels are all spinning at the same speed (and going the same direction). the design of the wheels is what keeps the bot from moving from side to side. the front left wheel's rollers are 90 degrees to the front right rollers (and same for the back), and the front left wheel is 90 degrees to the rear left wheel (and same on the right). for a wheel to roll sideways, it would force the rollers from two other wheels to move 90 degrees perpendicular to the direction that they roll. notice that the motors don't do anything other than keep the wheels spinning at the same speed and direction.