pic: it's a Vex Holonomic Drive!

[artdutra04]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

Am I correct in saying it is NOT super easy to push around because the wheels are not all pointing in the same direction? BTW, have any videos of it driving?

It is somewhat easy to push around, as one of the Vex Squarebots from our team was able to push it pretty easily across the linoneum floor. It has a lot more traction on carpeted floor, and it becomes harder to push. Also, the weight really helps get it more traction. When it was only the basic chassis, the wheels would slip on smooth flooring, and it would not get good traction. But this was solved once I built all the manipulators onto the chassis.

EDIT: The robot uses seven motors - four for the drive, and three for the manipulators.

I should a video of it driving around some time soon, as I have been non-stop busy for like the past month. But, if anyone was every wondering how a holonomic drive robot would perform in snow, today's your lucky day!





I took these pictures this morning when a few snow showers brought us another 1 1/2 of snow. It works okay on the sidewalk, but it was sliding all over the place. I was able to tape a little kiddie snow shovel on the front, and I was able to try to shovel some snow. This makes me want to build one of these out of Vex parts next, so I can shovel my driveway from the park bench on my front porch.