Stress testing a Rhino

[sportzkrazzy]

Originally Posted by evanperryg

Will the huge amount of grip make T-bones harder to get out of? Plenty of teams have relied on lateral slipping to get out of T-bones in the past (find 118's 2013 reveal video, there's a little clip of drop-down omnis) and the insane traction from the Rhinos may have the exact opposite effect. I'm also curious if a hard lateral impact will shove the tracks off the pulleys temporarily. Unfortunately, we can't test these things in-house, but I really would like to see more of the Rhino Drive so we can get a feel of how they will perform in competition. From what I've seen so far, they are really good with the B/D defenses, but it still begs the question- why aren't tank treads popular, except for games with terrain? If they came with repercussions as significant as their benefits, I could see why they aren't very common. Yet, so far, the Rhino drive has shown pretty much no significant disadvantage versus a traditional tank drive.

Actually what the drop down omins do is allow you to dynamically change your center of rotation on the fly over a large distance. When actuated it makes the pivot point of your robot be about the two traction wheels or section of tread that are still on the ground Instead of in between the wheel set or tank section was on the ground. You don't even have to power them to get this effect. This allows you to spin out of T-bones. They also make turning and aiming easier because there is less scrub making more precise, small movements easier.