Multi-faceted drive train?

[PAR_WIG1350]

Originally Posted by Basel A

In 2010, there were teams that could do what you're talking about. I recall one in particular we saw on Curie at the Championships. I tried to look them up for a few hours earlier today, but simply couldn't find them. They were an 8wd: 4 on the bottom and 4 on top. The top wheels spun with the bottom.

tl;dr it's been done

1350, the Rambots (us)!

Don't do it unless you have enough people that you can have subteams to work out how to make it all work. It is hard, but it can be done. That being said, make sure you would really rather put a good portion of your time into making everything (or at least the frame and drive system) double sided when you could be making the existing, single sided mechanisms better.

I have a ton of advice I could give to anybody attempting this. Here are a few samples:

It will be heavy, even if it is short, allow both sides to share as many mechanisms as possible! Duplicated mechanisms only work on one side, they are dead weight on the other.

The lower the bumper zone is, the shorter the robot will be. The maximum robot height for such a system is [(bumper zone upper limit)x2]-(regulation bumper height). The high bumper zone in 2010 allowed us to put some of our electronics in places that would otherwise be occupied by the drive train, and it was incredibly crowded inside the robot. A lower bumper zone would force the drive system to occupy a lot of precious space and further crowd the robot's interior.

If anybody attempts to do this, and wants more tips or pointers, they should PM me. (provide a link to this thread in the message please)

Originally Posted by Hawiian Cadder

it is possible to make a robot that is only stable on one "face" and therefor self rights.

Yes, Hexbug nanos have that capability, I believe, although they are much smaller. The main issue is that the bumpers get in the way of the geometry that allows for passive righting. the 2011 rules would have allowed for a folding frame that opened up past the frame perimeter to form the necessary profile, but the field was to flat for anybody to attempt it.