Omni Mania

[Andy Baker]

Originally posted by Warren Boudreau
Oscar,
You have a lot of questions. There are several different applications of omnidrives (sometimes called holonomic drives).
To date, the most sophisticated omnidrive system that I have seem in FIRST competitions have come from team 111 and 45 (or is it 47?). Team 111 (Wildstang) had a four wheel steering drive system that competed last year. You can get more information from their website.
The other bot from team 45 (or47) competed several years ago and functioned very well. It used two steerable drive wheels and caster.
Other applications have been used and each has advantages and disadvantages. You have to decide where your limitations reside. Manufacturing? Design? Cost? Weight? Software?
I know this didn't answer all of your questions, but I really recommend checking out the Wildstang website. It has a ton of information. A Google search on omnidrives will also inundate you with info.
Good luck.

Many teams have used swerve or crab style drive systems, but the two that Warren mentioned, ChiefDelphi (47) and Wildstang (111), are the leaders in this area. If I remember correctly, team 47 was the first to do this in 1998. Team 45 has never attempted swerve or crab drive... we're tank people like Warren's team.

Andy B.