Quad- 1/2 track drive system

[Ben Mitchell]

Dr. Johnson and everyone else,

What do you think of this drive system:

Robot oriented such that the 36" side is front, and 30" is side. This is to dampen effects of scrub.

A drive system consisting of 4 small tank treads. (perhaps 4-5 inches each), spaced apart to spread weight and traction evenly.


Each tread being drive by a motor (2 chiaphua, 2 drill),
Each small tread has a driven sprocket, and three idlers on the ground (resembling a triangle)

Each small tread has a center idler which is slightly lower than the other two, creating a "digging in" effect on each tread, gripping the carpet.

The treads themselves could be either brecoflex timing belts (high-end double sided with gripping pattern) , or custom tracks (a la Technokats).

4 motors could be replaced by the 2 chiaphua's.

Programming could be used to account for high amps, if we were rammed, and dull the ampage spike. (True or false??)

The pros of this drive: high traction, lower scrub (than full treads) Increased speed (than full treads), whuile still getting the traction that treads would produce.

What does anyone here think of this? I'm interested in getting opinions from the folks who know.

Would 4 motors cause a major battery/breaker problem?? Any ways to compensate??

Don't spare the criticism, or foresight to any problems you might expect to occur, I'm thinking about this design for next year (its a little late now). I thought I'd ask the folks who know what they're doing.

Thanks for your imput,

--Ben Mitchell