pic: Hart District Robotics Swerve Drive Prototype

[Ether]

Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi

I've only heard that there is more difficulty in programming a rectangular swerve for reasons unknown to me.

Never dabbled in programming, so I am asking based on what others have told me.

So, is it easier (easier being a relative term) to program a square swerve in terms of controls?

Not really. The inverse kinematics¹ are straightforward regardless whether it's square or rectangular.

The challenge with swerve is not the inverse kinematics, but how to control each wheel².


¹The problem of figuring out the theoretically correct speed and steering angle for each of the 4 wheels for any given desired vehicle motion is called inverse kinematics. The derivation of the formulas for this is interesting but not beyond the reach of high school mathematics. The formulas themselves are straightforward.

²If you could make each wheel instantaneously go to its theoretically correct speed and steering angle, swerve would be simpler. But there are dynamics involved. It takes time to steer the wheel and change its speed. During this transition time, the vehicle may do unexpected and/or undesired things. So the real problem in implementing a competent swerve drive is how to control each wheel to obtain predictable operation and acceptable response to driver commands.