2014 KOP Chassis OMNI wheel location

[marccenter]

Dear CD,

If a team were considering replacing the KOP 4 inch wheels with OMNI's from Andy Mark, what would the advantages and disadvantages be for using either 2 OMNI wheels in the center only, or two wheels on either side only? Does either offer a major disadvantage?

[Akash Rastogi]

The new AM14U is a drop center chassis, so you are not gaining much by adding in omni wheels. I don't see a reason to change a standard drop center 6wd out for omni's in the corners, and definitely not in the center.

Why are you considering this? Do you plan to go with a long 4wd or 6wd?

[marccenter]

Why are you considering this? Do you plan to go with a long 4wd or 6wd?

The BOOM Done robot featured mechanum or swerve type wheels to enhance maneuverability. The addition of OMNI wheels is a step in the direction of better maneuverability without the full complexity of mechanum drive.

[Akash Rastogi]

Originally Posted by marccenter

The BOOM Done robot featured mechanum or swerve type wheels to enhance maneuverability. The addition of OMNI wheels is a step in the direction of better maneuverability without the full complexity of mechanum drive.

They were mecanum wheels.

[Qbot2640]

In the short/wide configuration there may be an advantage to using omni, since there is no center drop. When I discovered that I became very concerned that three co-linear very grippy wheels will be difficult to turn effectively...as a result, we're going with the long config.

I'd love to hear impressions from the drive-train dynamics experts on this topic.

[Cal578]

A 6WD with drop center is already very good at turning in place, and still has fair traction for going forward and resisting a sideways push.

If you want to put some omni wheels into a 6WD, I wouldn't recommend putting them in the center. That would reduce your traction in both directions, and wouldn't really help much with turning.

If you really want to maximize your ability to turn in place, and are willing to sacrifice some traction, you could put the omnis in the four corners. The tradeoff doesn't seem worthwhile to me, but then I don't know your robot strategy.

[Iaquinto.Joe]

Team BOOM Done didn't use the AM14U chassis. They state it in their release video.