Our Team Needs Help on the Drive!

[writchie]

I would first stop thinking about half the robot. You will need to think about the trailer joined to the robot. It doesn't matter much what your half a robot can do. It will matter a lot how your complete robot (w/trailer) behaves on the regolith.

The two halves of the robot pivot horizontally on the trailer hinge pin. Study this carefully.

You are friction limited. The force available to move forward or backward or change orientation depends only on the Normal force (weight) on your driven wheels.

You've decided on an 8 wheel vehicle (2 on the trailer). You should have an explanation of why need each and every one of them.

The 6 wheel drive you illustrate may not even be able to turn with normal wheels on carpet. It depends where the center of gravity is.

Until you are prepared to do the math and physics, your best bet is to stick with the wide kit bot configuration and drive both wheels on each side. The longer wheelbase is your friend. You may want to buy another pair of wheels and build at least a dummy trailer that you can test with.

The last thing you want this year is a toaster that doesn't move because it will end up being a scoring disaster. I would suggest that you get a simple and reliable drive working so that your drivers can practice while you work on mechanisms and software. Don't bite off more than can chew.

Good Luck!