2 bots v. 3 bots Trailer question

[Siri]

Originally Posted by Daniel_LaFleur

My guess is that if a robot does not show up then the team would not be allowed to play during that match. That would mean that one of their payload specialist stations would be unmanned and 20 moonrocks would go unused.

I don't think so. This hasn't been true in the past, and according to 9.6.3, it doesn't look like it'll be true this year.
9.3.6 A TEAM is declared a no-show if no member of the team is in the ALLIANCE BASE, FUELING STATION, or OUTPOST at the start of the MATCH; a no-show team will be disqualified from that MATCH. (emphasis mine.) Thus, a team is only DQed as a no-show if a human player, not the robot, does not show up. And that seems pretty standard.

Originally Posted by pyrome

There are even a few more factors than that in optimizing traction.
However, to put it simply:
Friction is a function of normal force (weight).
Traction is a function of normal force AND surface area.

Notice: high school student in the room. I'm going to try my hand at this--please correct me if I'm wrong. Here goes nothing:
This distinction seems ill-placed. While both definitions are correct in certain circumstances, the circumstances, not the terms are different.

(I believe) there is no actual difference between friction and traction. Traction is simply a term frequently used to describe static friction, particularly in drive systems.

According to Columb (and basically everyone else), friction, in theory, is solely the product of the robots mass (essentially) and the coefficient of friction (static for rolling or non-moving surfaces, kinetic for sliding). Thus, the only ways to control friction are through robot weight (i.e. max it out at 120lbs) and wheel movement--keep them rolling, not sliding. The latter can only be accomplished by keeping acceleration below the maximum force allowed by the mu_s. (F=ma=Ff=mu*Fn=mu*mg, so a=mu*g, and so without modifying gravity, we're pretty stuck.)

Now, according to life in general, surface area plays a part. But it's not in the equation! Ah, but it is. Surface area can effect mu (actually, probably more often vice-versa). Softer surfaces (better traction) require more surface area (think side wall weight support) to be structurally sound and to withstand greater wear and tear. There are some other dynamic contact issues that arise when the "ground" surface is non-uniform, but that's less of an issue on regolith--not to mention even a little more out of my depth to explain.

So, MEs and physicists alike, help me out here. I think that's right.