One or Two Drivers??

[dirtbikerxz]

We only use one driver (me). It is simply a lot faster for me to do everything, than trying to communicate what I am trying to do with another person, and tell them exactly what to do.

But I can only say do what your team finds best for you guys and your bot

[Eric Scheuing]

We change it up based on the robot's functionality. In 2015, our robot was simple so we only used one driver, since the only mechanism on our bot needed to work well as the driver moved around the field. This year, we used two, since our shooter mechanism worked independently of our driving.

Basically, if a feature or mechanism needs to work at specific times while moving (intake or A-defense manipulation for example), our base driver gets control of it. If it works independently (e.g. shooter or hanger), it's given to our copilot.

[jijiglobe]

We use two drivers and have found it to be very reliable for us. While two drivers will never be able to communicate as well as one driver, there are often a lot of tasks that need to be taken care of at once.

I have found that, by using a two-driver setup, I can focus on the task of getting around defense and not worry about forgetting to turn the shooter on or raising our arm over defenses.

There is also an objective bonus to using a two-driver setup: you get more analog inputs. This isn't necessary for every robot, but most controller setups are limited to two analog inputs (one for each thumb). Some manipulators really like having analog control, and you probably want analog control for your drive train too.

While it might seem like two-driver is madly inefficient because of communication issues, a little practice can seriously mitigate that, and makes a lot of complex multitasking maneuvers much easier.

[GreyingJay]

Remember too that while technically having one guy do it all can be more efficient than two people working together, the advantage of the latter is that you're teaching at least two of your team members to work together. There's serious value in learning how to work well and communicate effectively with other people, learning to keep their cool in heated and stressful situations, and so on.