How can we drive on this new floor?

[Raul]

Originally Posted by markulrich

...
Has anyone felt the new playing surface? How much does it cost? Would plane old hallway concrete be a suitable substitute?

We bought two 4' x 8' sheets of that "ice" material ($30 per sheet) for the floor and did some testing. We compared traction on the "ice" the carpet and plain old tiled floor. The ice was the slickest. The carpet was slick but not as bad. The tile was surprisingly almost the same as the ice. So, to answer your question, if you cannot afford to buy some of the ice material, use a tiled floor as your best simulation.

[gburlison]

Originally Posted by Raul

We bought two 4' x 8' sheets of that "ice" material ($30 per sheet) for the floor and did some testing. We compared traction on the "ice" the carpet and plain old tiled floor. The ice was the slickest. The carpet was slick but not as bad. The tile was surprisingly almost the same as the ice. So, to answer your question, if you cannot afford to buy some of the ice material, use a tiled floor as your best simulation.

Did you collect and numbers to help us compare?
I was thinking that we might stretch a large sheet of plastic over a tile floor and tape down the edges. If the plastic is thick enough, hopefully the robot will not wrinkle and tear it long enough to practice.

[sdcantrell56]

So does anyone want to chime in about using these wheels as omniwheels. Would it even be possible. I am feeling slightly lost since all of my preseason designs involved mega-traction and multi-speed high torque transmissions

[dtengineering]

Originally Posted by sdcantrell56

So does anyone want to chime in about using these wheels as omniwheels. Would it even be possible. I am feeling slightly lost since all of my preseason designs involved mega-traction and multi-speed high torque transmissions

Omniwheels are specifically designed to have a lower coefficient of friction in the transverse direction than in the inline direction.

These wheels, according to the manual, have a transverse coefficient of friction that is about twice that of the inline direction. They are, by my reading... anti-omni wheels.

Jason

[GaryVoshol]

Originally Posted by Raul

We bought two 4' x 8' sheets of that "ice" material ($30 per sheet) for the floor and did some testing. We compared traction on the "ice" the carpet and plain old tiled floor. The ice was the slickest. The carpet was slick but not as bad. The tile was surprisingly almost the same as the ice. So, to answer your question, if you cannot afford to buy some of the ice material, use a tiled floor as your best simulation.

Did you do any testing on terrazzo floors? (The stuff where a slurry is poured, and then polished after it hardens)