pic: All Terrain Swerve 1

[artdutra04]

So far this looks like a really neat idea.

The only problems I see that might be a problem with going offroad and all-terrain are the lack of ground clearance between the CIM motors and the ground, the "exposed" gears on the outside of the modules (although protected from the side, there's nothing on the bottom to prevent sand or grime from getting in there), and maybe the treads themselves.

I'd probably consider much wider treads with more traction to them, so that if traveling through something like sand, snow, or mud they don't sink out of sight. (Ever try to ride a bicycle through deep mud?) Wider treads will spread out the weight of the robot better, allowing for the robot to glide over the obstacles instead of sinking into them.

Originally Posted by Alex.Norton

I have thought a lot about the turning problem and had a couple of ideas. I thought about using another set of motors on each module to lift it up onto just one of the two pulleys. I also thought about making the shock absorbers to out of pneumatic cylinders, and put valves on it so that it could lift the modules onto one pulley. The other advantage of these is that it would make it easier to get up ledges.

I do like the idea of using three pulleys to get one point of contact but I'm weary of this because it wouldn't be stable in this set up with the second axis of turning. This is actually just a fun little CAD project that I'm working on. I'm trying to put together a bunch of different wierd drive trains together to give the younger kids on the team some ideas for next year.

Point contact would a complete 180 of what you need when going off-road and all terrain. You need more contact with the ground, to better spread out the load so you don't sink into the ground.

Originally Posted by 114ManualLabor

One suggestion: You're going to have trouble turning.

No it won't. This robot should have an excellent time turning, and I don't see any problems with it as is. In fact, with some sophisticated code it can be even more agile than a traditional swerve drive in it's ability to do complex curves and arcs without any side scrub.

All of the four swerve modules are all independently driven, which means you can have all your wheels turn in different amounts to almost perfectly turn using Ackerman steering. Since every wheel can turn independently, each wheel can turn the exact amount needed to eliminate any and all side scrub. Here's a quick illustration:



...Which would work exactly the same as the Jeep Hurricane concept car:


http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...03950591957346