paper: Driving a Robot — Fastest Path from A to B

[Mr. N]

Originally Posted by compwiztobe

To further back this up. Even if you are going to do a simple turn-straight-turn, it's going to be faster to turn about one drive side rather than the center of the robot because this moves your center further along the path.

In fact, the analysis takes this into account.

Turning about a point other than the center does indeed made the center of the robot move faster. However, it simultaneously creates a longer path in every case. This is the central question: Does the increased speed compensate for the extra length? The answer is no (within the context of the working assumptions).