Getting out of tight places
 

This weekend, I finally got to test the robot on an official field. While I have a pretty good understanding of how it works, I was completely stumped by one scenario I found myself in.
The robot got stuck right up against a wall, and I tried for a good 20 seconds to get myself away from the wall. Drivers that have similar drivetrains, how do you find yourselves getting out of a situation similar to this?

Re: Getting out of tight places
 

What kind of drivetrain do you have? And what wall were you stuck against?

Re: Getting out of tight places
 

My bad for not specifying.
We have a 6 wheel tank drive with 8 inch pneumatic wheels and a 3/16" center drop. The entire robot is 28*32 with the short ends being the front and back.

Re: Getting out of tight places
 

So, if you're trying to do a spin move (move both sticks in opposite directions) to get out and that isn't working, maybe try moving only the side of the robot that isn't touching the wall to turn and then drive away. I guess I'm kind of confused about the situation you are describing.

Drive forward and away from the wall then backwards away, if you are even a inches or two away than you can just turn directly and get out

Re: Getting out of tight places
 

Take advantage of the compression of your bumpers. You will always be able to force the robot so make some sort of angle with the wall, then maneuver from there. Great job at North Shore, it was fun playing with you guys.

Re: Getting out of tight places
 

Getting stuck against a surface just means you need to reverse parallel park out of it or alternatively if you can follow the surface until a break you can do that.

Re: Getting out of tight places
 

Out of curiosity, what gear ratio do you have? What tire pressures are you running? Technique can only do so much if the bot stalls motors long before it makes use of the traction it has available. Drop centers can become useless too if the center tires are under inflated to the point where all the outer wheels scrub anyways.