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Originally Posted by Matt Leese
I single out drive systems because there seems to be a lot of emphasis on them, particularly in the off-season. I also think that it's harder to get students involved when the robots get more complex (although it's not impossible but the more complex the robot, generally the harder it is to get students involved).
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This is a little OT, but I feel relevent to the quote...
I believe you're seeing veterans improve their drive trains in the offseason because it's the one thing you can standardize. Most teams run fine with the same drive train every year. By standardizing on mechnisms it gives teams more time to concentrate on the new changes in the game.
You would think that this put veteran teams to a distinct advantage, and in some ways it does. However, FIRST responded pretty well to this by providing a basic drivetrain in the kit of parts.
Right now my team is in the process of standardizing a drivetrain. For three reasons: we found one we like, and we just don't have the people power to re-engineer every mechanism each season. The final reason is because FIRST has raised the bar and requires synergy between teams (mostly drivetrain and control systems) that just can't happen in 6 weeks. Our autonomous was poor the last two years because we haven't put offseason time into it. By standardzining on a drivetrain and complimenting it with a control system we will have a more competitve autonomous mode.