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Unread 06-06-2011, 23:59
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FRC #0842 (Falcon Robotics)
Team Role: Engineer
 
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Re: USB Steering Wheel

Quote:
Originally Posted by Morgan Garbett View Post
I'm noticing that many seasoned and experienced teams are recommending using a steering wheel. Does using a steering wheel offer more agility and maneuverability? If not what other types of advantages does it offer?
You still have two inputs (steering wheel and throttle vs two joy sticks) mapped to two outputs (left and right side motor pwm). They both offer the same amount of control, and a seasoned driver on each control style should be able to do the exact same maneuvers. The advantage to the the steering wheel control system is how intuitive it is to control the robot; you turn the wheel clockwise, and the robot will rotate clockwise. I've seen many drivers lose their orientation with tank drive when driving towards themselves, but this doesn't seem to be an issue when using a steering wheel. The learning curve is drastically sped up.

Quote:
Originally Posted by remulasce View Post
It looks cool? I think you can never beat tank style controls if you have a tank style robot.
Give both options a shot before making your decision. I've tried both, and I don't ever want to drive a robot with joysticks again. Everyone is different, and I'd bet there are drivers out there that work better with joysticks than a wheel. The human/robot interface is a critical part of the robot that often goes overlooked; not enough teams look into ways of optimizing it.
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