[Veselin Kolev]

I for one am willing to try these wheels out. Though there is the obvious disadvantage of having a less efficient system of transferring power to the ground, you are given an almost infinite degree of maneuverability. You can drive forward or backward, arc forward or backward, drive sideways, arc sideways, and strafe at any angle, just like swerve drive. It is like swerve drive, but a lot simpler. I think it is a very good drive train for FIRST teams to try out. The programming is tricky but not impossible for rookies, its really just figuring out the math behind the motion. The fabrication is easy if you figure out the tricks behind making it simple.

The only thing you have to consider is that it limits your driving strategy. With this drive, you are not going to be able to win pushing fights against some robots. Robots with six-wheel drive and a low speed are going to ram you into a corner if you have this drive. The point of this drive is for you to make it, and program it, and get the driver so used to it that it is a breeze to fly around such slow moving robots, not ever touching them. This drive is one that demands a coordinated driver, and a fast gearing, maybe 12 feet per second or more. That way you are a super-agile monster of a robot that does tasks fast and never touches another robot.

But of course, I’m just a proponent for this drive train. It all really depends on your driving style. This is just something I’m interested in seeing on the field.