Encoders and Rover Wheels

[Ryan O]

In direct answer, yes, if the wheels slip then the encoder will be wrong. An encoder measures a number of revolutions, and has no way of "knowing" how much traction a wheel has. For traction control, you could look at either an idle wheel, current sensors on the motors, or an accelerometer. Encoders are a good choice to see what the wheels are doing in terms of speed - it will allow comparison to another sensor - and the comparison could provide the slip/no slip info you want.

[Freeztech]

Originally Posted by Ryan O

In direct answer, yes, if the wheels slip then the encoder will be wrong. An encoder measures a number of revolutions, and has no way of "knowing" how much traction a wheel has. For traction control, you could look at either an idle wheel, current sensors on the motors, or an accelerometer. Encoders are a good choice to see what the wheels are doing in terms of speed - it will allow comparison to another sensor - and the comparison could provide the slip/no slip info you want.

yeah, my team was thinking about that, this would allow you to have a comparison between what your robot is doing and what it thinks its doing, allowing you to work this into an automatic acceleration code. because of how tricky the acceleration is going to be, this would help out loads.