[EricH]

For teams that design their own, they learn a lot about how to make these things work. Some teams, however, do not have the resources to do that. They may be rookies (in which case, I'd recommend the AndyMarks over the kit trannies) or they might be struggling in other matters. It's worth researching for anyone, but do it in the summer, when resources aren't as tied up.

Also, don't expect it to be quick and easy. In 2003, my team saw mecanum wheels for the first time while returning from Houston. It took us until 2005 to get a set at full scale for testing. We still haven't put them on any competition robot. (2005 was the closest. In Week 5, I think it was (might have been Week 6), we finished testing and concluded that we would go with a different drive system, but we'd allowed for both during build.) So, you not only have to design this cool gadget, but you have to convince a team that it will help them.