Brakes

[Siri]

Originally Posted by Seat Ninja

There is nothing illegal about this plan. Do realize though, that this will most likely not produce results different than simply stopping your drive system. According to Physics, the surface area should make no difference on traction on an ideal surface. As you increase the surface area, you decrease the weight per unit area, thus canceling any gain in traction. The field this year is REALLY close to an ideal surface, so you would get no "velcro effect" from the wheels simply resting on the field like with carpet. Usually on carpet, this velcro effect will increase with the number of wheels and offset the friction lost to weight spread.

P.S. I tried to explain it the best I could, but it is still probably confusing. Let me know if you have questions.

While this is true, according to FIRST and my team's own tests, the transverse coefficient of friction is different that then inline. This means that if you mount the "brake" wheels perpendicularly (rotating around the y axis), they will produce more friction than otherwise. This is because the frictional force is the product of the coefficient of friction and the normal force (weight) on each wheel. Now you're dividing the weight of the robot over more wheels (unless you pick up the other wheels, which is technically an option), but you've increased the coefficient of friction. You'll have to decide for yourself whether this is what you want. Make sense?

For all of you running your coefficient of friction tests, make sure you do them loaded. Yes, I know the physics, but we all know reality. Just trust me on this.