Quote:
Originally Posted by Cory
Sean lists pretty much everything you need to know. I have one minor nitpick to make though.
Traditionally, a true omnidirectional drivetrain allows translation in the x and y axes as well as rotation about it's center point, at the same time. A swerve drive will not allow you to do this. I don't believe a mechanum drive will either, but to be honest I haven't paid an ounce of attention to them beyond that cool Airtrax video.
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You are correct that a swerve drive (at least any that have been produce in FIRST thusfar to the best of my knowledge) will not allow for translation and rotation simultaneously. Nor will it allow for near-instantaneous changes in the direction of motion (as the wheels have to be physically turned).
As for mecanum drives, it is quite possible to rotate and translate simultaneously. Mecanum drives function identical to their more "traditional" holonomic cousins, only that rather than having wheels angeled around the robot, the rollers are. I'm not sure how many teams have done this, but very few teams have achieved this same motion with holonomic drives either. It takes much more programming skill to achieve it, and a much greater use of sensors integrated into the drive.