Brakes

[Al Skierkiewicz]

As has been explained to me (thanks Raul! and I hope I am stating this right) adding wheels does nothing to increase the friction between the robot and the floor. As the surface of the floor and the wheels are both extremely hard and flat, they approach ideal surfaces. Theoretically, if the weight of the robot remains constant, the amount of friction applied between the robot and the floor would be the same with one wheel, four wheels or a flat plate as large as the robot.
As to using the Brake mode on the speed controllers, this works best when their is some amount of friction between the floor and wheels. The braking action is then a function of the rotational speed of a motor. The greater the speed, the more current flows into the controller and a greater back EMF is produced at the motor. At low speeds there is very little current and hence very little back EMF. I am prediciting that in this game, supreme control over wheel rotation, moving and braking, will prove to be the single greatest factor to stable driving.