[Kyveck]

This is only my teams experience, but we used a drive train with two wheels in the center and four delrin skids on the corners in 2005. I don't have any pictures of the drive train though. The chassis was about 1//2" off of the ground in the center and the skids were raised 1/4". Initially we didn't do that, and had some trouble turning consistenty. It was definately a little difficult to learn to drive becuase it overshot turns so easily, but with a little practice and a lot of feedback control, our driver was able to control it very well.

As you would imagine, whenever we were bumped on a corner, we spun, but this wasn't as much of a disadvantage as we thought it would be. Our drivetrain was so maneuverable that we found it much easier to avoid the other robots, or just get out of the way. If we were bumped and couldn't move, we only spun, and we could spin back into position very quickly.

We replaced the delrin skids whenever they began so show strain or crack marks, about every 5 or six matches. They were very reliable, although they took a lot of time to form carefully with files and a dremel.

In 2006, we mistakenly tried the same drivetrain again, hoping to use powered wheels in the front which were usually off the ground to go up the ramp. The design, like most of our 2006 robot, was a flop. This drive base is inherently bad at ramps. We're trying something new this year, since we still want to be able to go up ramps.

Hope this might be helpful, and if you have any questions, I'd be glad to answer.

Kyle W,
Team 1014