Driving control scheme?

[devicenull]

That font is very, very hard to read.


We use tank.. I wouldn't have it any other way.. It is by far the best, as far as I can tell (Try to do this with a single joystick: Go forward, spin around one of the back wheels to 180, and go straight forward)

[Mr. Freeman]

This is interesting. Way more teams voting for two joysticks than one.

The one joystick really isn't that much harder to program. I worked it out on paper in about 15 minutes then typed that straight into the computer. I spent about 30 minutes (that is, 30 minutes of actually working) debugging it when the tracks on the bot kept randomly reversing/ignoring dead bands/spinning the same way.

Our team still has to make some motor linearization code and tweak the code but for the most part it's done.

I think that one joystick is easier to control and leaves the operator's other hand free for a possible second joystick/panel for weapons control. We learned last year that it's best not to have two drivers. That's very hard to coordinate correctly sometimes.

[cire]

I really perfer 2 joystick tankdrive because it gives you absolute control of the robot, you can control either side of you your drivetrain at any speed you want any time you want. However I do think that 1 joystick would be easier for people that havnt ever driven a robot before.

[Alan Anderson]

We started with both one- and two-joystick options last year. Yes, one joystick was easier for people who had never driven a robot before. However, for those with experience (or after a bit of practice), it was much easier to control using two joysticks.

The issue of turning while going backwards leads to some seriously nonintuitive behavior when using a single joystick. There are fixes, but none seem entirely satisfactory to me.

[aaeamdar]

Tank drive for the win (hehe)! Some members of our electrical team go in for differential steering (one for speed, one for turning) but us programmers will turn them around. I agree with the poll results. If tank drive were unavailable, one for all and all for one would make sense.

Paul Dennis

[samson234]

We split the responsibility of operating the robot between two people, a driver and an operator. The driver controls the robot's placement on the field and the speed of the drive while the operator is responsible for any appendages.I was the driver for my team in the 2005 season. I also drove the robot at the 2004-2005 IRI. I have driven with both single and double joystick controls. Personally, I fell more confident with two joysticks. Many people have said that two joysticks are easier to control for the experienced driver. I suggest that if your team plans on rotating drivers during the season that you use single stick controls. However, if you have enough time during the build season to practice driving, go with a two stick drive.