Swerve Drivetrain

[=Martin=Taylor=]

Originally Posted by Matt Reiland

Forget about weight, you better have have a LOT of resources available to design and build it. After seeing the 118 machine up close, this isn't something you think up overnight. The weight also is greatly affected by the types of wheels, motors, chain etc that you choose to use. Try to look at the pictures from 111,118, 71 and others to pick up the tricks from each for weight savings and efficient design. Just be ready for the complexity and hope that the playing field is flat if you choose to develop it in the off season!

There's always a simpler & lighter way to do things...

Its not that swerve drives are "heavy" or "complex," its that no one has been clever enough to design one that is lighter and less complex. (Although some have gotten pretty darn close)

My advice is to go for it. Who knows? Perhaps with enough work and research you'll hit on an idea that will revolutionize the swerve as we know it.

Team 16 had a nice chapter on swerves in FIRST Robotics: Behind the Design.