[Bharat Nain]

The use of 2-speed transmissions has gone up a lot since AM came out. I think the reason they are used widely is because they are so readily available. Some teams decide to custom-build theirs and do a decent or excellent(254/968) job on it. I think the use of 2-speed gearboxes is going to go up in the years to come. FIRST has encouraged defense in the past 2 years and 2-speed transmissions are one way to face the challenge. I don't think they are going to change the rules because defense on the field is good to see within limits. Swerve drives, crab drives(45, 116, 1114 and so on..) etc are very cool but they are also complex to build and very time-consuming. That is why teams stick to tank-drive and do very well in competition. It also matters what a teams goals are when building a robot. Some build purely to win competitions while others build for the "cool" factor. Some are good at both and some have neither. 2-Speed transmissions will go a long way because they are ease to buy and install. They are also very effective.