1519 has successfully used center wheel drive in the past. We used the old 12" pneumatic Skyways in the center with "omnis" at both ends - we put 1" flexible pool tubing over the 8"skyways to give them some lateral slip.
Some of the advantages of this drivetrain are:
- very simple to build
- EXTREMELY reliable (our 2006 bot went through 1 regional, nationals, and 5 offseason comps and all we had to do was check the tire pressure
- maneuverable
Of course, you have to consider some of the cons too:
- not as much traction as a drivetrain with more powered wheels (although it is still quite respectable)
- cannot handle a multilevel playing field
You can check out some videos of it at our
site