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Unread 05-04-2008, 14:59
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Curt_Bagne Curt_Bagne is offline
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FRC #0573 (Mech Warriors)
Team Role: Electrical
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Rookie Year: 2006
Location: Troy Michigan
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Re: Unique ways of controlling your robot (driving)

I am really happy with 2 stick tank drive. It gives me lots of control and allows me to do things with the robot that I'm not sure I could do with other control systems.

This may be a bad metaphor but think of tank drive as a car with a manual transmission and some other trick control system as a car with an automatic. An automatic is easy to use and a new driver can do very well with it but it takes control away and gives it to a computer that in most cases doesn't know when you are approaching a turn or anything else. A manual transmission takes longer to get used to but once it is mastered, it is faster in most racing situations. Once you master the basics of tank steer(going straight, smooth turns, inverting inputs when the robot is going towards the driver) it can be made to do some amazing things.

I could be completely wrong as I don't have any experience driving a robot with anything other than tank steer but I think what I said is true.
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Curt Bagne, driver and electronics leader
Team 573
2007 GLR Champions
2008 Pittsburgh semifinalists
2008 GLR quarterfinalists