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217 Used a Steering Wheel
Team 217 used a steering wheel and a joystick for throttle. We tried the 1 joystick method and even used LeoM's algorithm (thanks LeoM and Matt R.), but our drivers just had information overload. They had to shift (many ratios, not just one gear), switch between crab and monster truck steer all with one joystick. It was just too much. Our students love using the steering wheel, so we had 2 modes: Crab, and monster truck. In crab mode, the steering wheel turned all 4 wheels in the same direction from -90 to +90 degrees (0 is straight ahead). In monster truck mode (4 wheel steering), we turned the front wheels 3x as much as the rear wheels in opposite directions. Buses also use this steering. We could not use skid steer, because we had too much traction on all 4 wheels (we placed a priority on traction). The joystick was just used for throttle and switching gears. We had 2 gearboxes and 2 steering motors. The front wheels were combined in steering and shared the same gearbox. The rear wheels were combined in steering and shared the same gearbox.
We have been using the steering wheel for the last 2 years and love it. The steering wheel works great for skid steer too.
-Paul
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