Building the Robot Base

By Jayesh, Omar, and Darshan

Task: Design and test implementation of a driving base

We have spent the last few practices formulating a new driving base for our robot this year. We went through various possibilities: tank-based drive using both tracks and the omni-regular system (both of which are systems that we have utilized in previous years). However, both systems showed inefficiencies with this year's competition. We decided to go to a system using mainly Mecanum Wheels, complemented by an extrusion-based attachment system.

Reflections:

The three options that we had for the driving base(Mecanum, omni, tracks) all had different strengths and weaknesses that we judged as important for this year's competition. The omni wheel system is good for maneuvering and strength, but the low-set nature of it would interfere with scoring in the competition. The tracks are good for strength and base durability, but the competition doesn't necessarily emphasize those characteristics. The size, manueverability, and low center of gravity, of Mecanum Wheels all complement this years competition. The high altitude of the wheels will allow us to go over the scoring balls, perhaps having some form of collection underneath. The extrusion-based structure gives more ease-of-access and stability compared to our previous Tetrix-centered versions.