[Gui Cavalcanti]

The Bose suspension uses 4 high-power electric linear motors in place of a spring/damper suspension system. The system uses the equivalent of 1/3-1/2 the power of an air conditioner, even if you're on a level road. It took several years to develop to the point where it was appreciably more useful than a spring/damper system.

If you want to talk about controlling sway and body roll, you need actuators that can precisely control the force exerted by each wheel upon the ground. A positional actuator (FIRST's use of pneumatics, for binary positions) would be really hard to implement. In order to do it well, I think you would need the pistons on each wheel and 4 software-adjustable pressure regulators with a reaction time in the millisecond range.

I think a nifty, doable idea would be to build a suspension for a FIRST robot, with a small motor (globe, window) that compresses or releases a coil spring to provide variable stiffness to each wheel. I'm pretty sure it is within the realm of easily available FIRST components.

If you want more information on this type of actuator, I would suggest Googling "adjustable compliance" actuators. There's some really nifty stuff being done in the world of legged robots that is very similar to what you're describing.

As a final thought, a lot of the jerkiness I saw with FIRST robots at the Capitol Clash wasn't caused by other robots, but by the robot's drivetrain. Differential drive systems (tank steering) are generally driven in a start-stop-turn manner, which introduces all sorts of weird accelerations that can cause a robot to tip over or lose its load (i.e., throw a tetra into the crowd). A good mechanical solution to this might be to switch to ackerman steering (car-style) due to its inherent stability, and have a control system that limits motor acceleration.