We have a 4wd long test base and it turns fine on linoleum floor (no regolith); just make sure the wheels aren't spinning before executing a tight turn. I cut throttle before turning, can easily do a 180+ spin. We don't have a trailer yet but Dave Lavery made a post on here about exploiting the trailer to turn quickly.
Quote:
And don't make a decision too early - a driver with about an hour of practice will learn how to use the Trailer to spin the Robot through turns and pivots with a lot more agility than may have originally been anticipated.
As one benchmark, after a bit of practice I was able to take a standard kit-bot system with trailer attached and run it from one end of the Crater (starting with the Trailer touching the Alliance Station Wall) to the far end, execute a 180-degree turn and make contact with the far wall, and run back to the starting wall in about 12 seconds. This was repeatable several times.
-dave
|
I think there is a definite advantage to a swerve drive, just questionable whether it's worth it this year and how well this setup would work. edit: our team decided the extra practice time with 4wd would be worth more than time spent designing/building/testing a swerve drive.