Ok after reading Paul's second post (sorry amidst studying for finals is causing me great confussion) I've come up with this (This could be a repeat I'm not sure)
On a solid surface (i.e. concrete, etc.) a wheel and a track essentially have the same principle, the weight gravity force is "pulling" down on the bot and the surface is "pushing" back against the wheel/track that is in contact with the ground. The difference between a wheel and a track is the distribution of the wieght force of the robot. This doesn't matter however in the case of the hard floor because the way a wheel/track works is that static friction is applied in the same direction as whatever the wheel is attached to is moving. Friction does not include surface area in any way shape or form.
However on the other hand, while moving through sand or snow, a track has an advantage over a wheel because of the mass distribution. I guess the high heel and a snowshoe is a good analogy. I guess another would be a stick and a sand pail, but w/e. I pretty sure that there is math to prove that h/o i dont know it yet.
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To be truly in touch with things, we must analyze the interactions between the wheels/tracks and carpet.
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If I remember correctly from physics class, the interaction between the surface and the wheels/tracks is as follows.
No matter what the surface is made of because of the natural tendency of the weight force "pulling" down on the mass above there will always be the smallest depression. For an example of this I use a ball bearing and a sheet. If you hold a sheet taught and place a ball bearing on it the ball bearing will create a small depression.
Please correct me if I'm wrong or repetitive.
-Pat
Weird. On a forum where people talk about robots, we have a robot trying to talk to people. - dellagd [more] 
05-12-2004, 16:54
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