[Fred Sayre]

I don't recommend a custom chassis as rookies. I was on a team that was not experienced and we made heavily customized drivetrain components that failed completely during competition. There is nothing more demoralizing than not being able to drive. Focus on reliability and simplicity. If your machine performs consistently and accomplishes at least some scoring aspect of the game you will do very well as rookies. Consistency is a very hard thing to achieve in this competition. I can't tell you how many times veteran teams pick up solid rookies as the 3rd or even 2nd team in an elimination alliance because they are reliable and can put up some points, or run some interference in a pinch. Sometimes the rookies are even up in the top 8 picking, even with a kitbot chassis and reliable manipulator.

Additionally I second the thought about the gear ratio being extremely fast this year for the kit chassis. Consider going a bit slower, especially if you are planning on have an arm to reach the tall posts, as the speed may be just what causes your robot to tip over. Going with smaller wheels can allow you to lower your machine's center of gravity and add to your stability as well. As far as omni's, there is an important consideration to make here. Are you planning on playing defense? Are you expected to be heavily defended against? Since the scoring zone is protected, you shouldn't expect defense while scoring so having the added maneuverability of 2 or 4 of the 6 wheels being omnis could help your ability to turn and get situated to score the tubes. If you are worried about getting pushed around in the middle, consider only two omni's or all traction type wheels. If you use a dropped center wheel, and have a tall arm placing tubes, the effect of the slight tilt of the robot from one set of 4 wheels to the other set of 4 can be magnified and cause problems. Good luck!