Re: Rack and Pinion Style Robot.
 

my team's pretty still pretty young but we've been trying to test different drive trains. we've used tank and mecanum so far. we always do a lot of research and last year we were thinking of using swirve which is based of cars. we were worried about a few things. that swirve is still relativity new and that we did not think that we had enough time to work on it. there are some teams that use swirve but it takes dedication for months to make it work correctly. Getting it to work the way you want it to is not easy. So if your team has the time and resources, I would recommend that they start researching and prototyping this idea during the off-season. my team plans to do the same. this reduces the risks of having your robot not fully function during competitions.
good luck!

This is not only for your idea but for everything you do in robotics! wouldn't you rather know that your team has build something that actually works, and works well? this is why veteran teams often do well: they have experience.

Re: Rack and Pinion Style Robot.
 

If you have independently steerable front wheels, you can do Ackermann steering in software.

Re: Rack and Pinion Style Robot.
 

Another very important reason skid steer "trumps" any car-like driving method is that skid steer keeps the middle of the machine open for game functions. For example, in 2010 it would have been difficult to make a kicker work around this or in 2009 or 2006 it would have been more difficult to pick up balls from the ground. The front-middle of the robot is prime robot real estate.

Plus that whole thing with it being more complex and less manuverable.:]

Regards,Bryan

Re: Rack and Pinion Style Robot.
 

As pointed out once before in this thread, there is no reason you cannot power all the wheels in an Ackermann steering system.


The more pertinent concerns deal with desired performance, weight and space allocation, points/modes of failure, and familiarity.

Re: Rack and Pinion Style Robot.
 

it would be probably at least twice as heavy, because you need a rack and pivoting wheel mounts, like the ball joints in cars.
look at skidsteer equipment, and the kind of small spaces they operate in, and compare that to driving a car.