FIGURE 1
Tooth Height and Bite
Before we continue this analysis,
we need to define the term “tooth
bite,” shown as “d” in Figure 1. The
tooth bite is a distance that
measures how much the tips/teeth
of the spinner weapon will get into
the opponent before hitting it. For
instance, if two robots are moving
towards each other with one of
them having a spinning bar (as
pictured in Figure 1), then the
highest bite would
happen if the bar barely
missed the opponent
before turning 180
degrees to finally hit it.
So, the tooth bite is the
“overlap” caused by the
bots moving towards
each other.
Small values for “d”
mean that the spinner
will have a very small
contact area with the
opponent, most likely
chewing its armor instead
of binding and grabbing it. So, a
spinner needs to maximize d to
deliver a more effective blow. This is
why an attack with the drive system
at full speed is more effective, since
a higher closing speed will result in a
higher d. This is also why very fast
spinning weapons have a tough time
grabbing an opponent, since their
very high rotational speed ends up
decreasing the tooth bite.
FIGURE 2
30 SERVO 11.2010
