Traction Control for a Turning Tank-Drive

[DanL]

Hey All,

First of all, this thread is purposely designed as a branch of the massive traction control thread -- not trying to duplicate threads, but just trying to narrow the scope of the discussion.

The traction control thread talked in detail of the different ways to measure and implement a traction control system. However, one detail I didn't see mentioned was that all the theory was applicable to linear acceleration (or robots that had dedicated steering).

Most robots, I think, will be implementing tank or skid steering. The gotcha here is that by definition, you need wheel slip to turn -- by it's very nature, skid steering creates angular acceleration by sliding the wheels. Its been a few years since I took a physics class... does anyone know how to figure out the acceptable slip to achieve a certain angular acceleration?

A linear traction control system ("launch control") is simple. How about one that performs well while turning for a tank-drive robot? Thoughts on different wheel configurations (4powered x 2motors, 4powered x 4motors, 2powered x 2motors)?

-Dan