[Joe Ross]

The following assume you are using the RobotDrive VIs in LabVIEW and the robotDrive object in Java.

LabVIEW, by default, squares the inputs joystick inputs. This makes a small input value even smaller and might account for what you are seeing. The Java library also squares the joystick inputs by default, but makes it easier to change to not squaring. Which are you using?

In the Java library, robot drive objects declare jaguars unless speed controller objects are passed to it. If you are using a different type of speed controller (eg Victor or Talon), you may see weird behavior like neutral offsets. In LabVIEW, it's more obvious how to change to the appropriate speed controller type.