[MARS_James]

Hopefully I can help you out by giving a simple answer yes it is possible in fact that is exactly how we controlled out robot in 2011 with mecanums. And you don't need a gyro (though you can if you want)

Now time for what I say every time this comes up on Delphi. I am a huge supporter of nontraditional drive systems (not tankdrive), and am glad that I was able to work with them as a student and continue to work with them as a mentor and in my place of work that being said here are somethings to really think about before making the switch to mecanum.

1. Do you want to regulate 4 CIMS to drive the wheels?
This year with the increase to 6 CIMS, and the addition of the MiniCIMS it was not an issue but if this changes it can mean limits in your designs.

2. Do you have the programming support to handle the switch?
Unfortunately this is sometimes over looked but it takes a lot of fine tuning on the programming side to make a great mecanum drive, without it they can be a nightmare.

3. Is your robot better at the game for having mecanums?
This may seem weird coming from a member of a team who is on its third straight year using the wheels but not all games is it a good idea to use mecanums or all strategies. This year if your robot was designed as a 30 point climber who played defense for most of the match you wouldn't want mecanums you would want the power from a tank drive. Another example of previous games where mecanum drives would not have made your robot better would be 2005 or 2002 where the field was either impeded by a lot of obstacles or where pushing power was the real game changer.

What i am trying to get at is the part of your post where you say next year you are switching, don't assume that till you see next years game.