Hi readers,
Let me start by apologizing for the short break I took. I have been very busy at robotics ever since kickoff, and midterms are approaching!
This leads me into my next topic: robotics. A lifetime goal of mine has been fulfilled! Swerve drive!
Recently, my team invested in some MK3 Swerve modules and parts to go with them! Most of us are super excited to be working with them, and are thrilled to try something new this season! Most of my team and I agree that this year is the year to do it! My brother and one friend really pushed for it, and have been pushing for it for a long time. Why do I push for it?
Swerve is certainly one of the most competitive drivetrains in FRC, which explains the increase in teams who are interested in swerve drive. Let's look at some other drivetrains real quick.
A mecanum robot offers great adjustment in any direction, but is incredibly prone to defense as it is 100% rollers. Similar to its vulnerability to defense, it is also much more sensitive, and will break much easier than something like a treaded billet wheel! With that being said, mecanum is not a bad drivetrain; we used it in the 2019 competitive season! Sure, it was not that great towards the end of the season since teams learned to maneuver carefully and score without an advantageous drivetrain, but it got the job done in the beginning. The point is, I'm not hating on mecanum, but there are better drivetrains that offer similar capabilities!
When someone thinks of a robot, they probably think of something like this. A robot with a tank drivetrain can usually benefit from qualities such as speed, durability, and lightweightness (there is an even lighter manipulation of tank drive, called west coast drive, another competitive drivetrain). Some of these robots, however, may suffer from a lack of maneuverability, especially along the horizontal axis. There are a lot of factors to consider when making one of these drivetrains, including the wheel drop, wheel size, number of wheels, number of motors, and more. Nevertheless, this general drivetrain configuration is common in FRC, and will provide a decent level of competitiveness and simplicity to almost any robot from any year.
A lesser known drivetrain, H-drive, is a very unique drivetrain that blends these two drivetrains in a questionable way. Some people find this drive exciting and beneficial, while others think its inferior to mecanum. An H-Drive consists of four omni wheels (one in each corner), and an omni wheel along the y-axis of the robot. Unlike the other wheels however, this wheel is oriented horizontally. Since omni wheels have one way rollers, the robot can drive like a skiddrive, but also move side to side very slowly. This configuration is great for people who need more swing and maneuverability than a tank drive, but don't want to be as vulnerable as mecanum. Again, this drivetrain is more rare, as teams will typically just pick mecanum or tank. You decide if it's better than one or the other!
Swerve drive is possibly the king of all drivetrains if I'm being honest! Imagine motorizing four caster wheels, as well as their pivots. These "modules" make up a swerve drive, and can range between very complex and incredibly complex! This drive offers the maneuverability of mecanum by allowing 360 degree motion. In fact, this drivetrain can move on two axises and spin at the same time while maintaining a decent amount of speed. This speed and the counter-defense level maneuverability is what makes it better than mecanum. Tank? Well, tank can't side to side or spin like this robot. Tank can be faster however; it depends on gearing, wheel count, wheel type, etc.
Another reason to use swerve, is because it is a great learning opportunity for all departments, especially design and programming.
For my team in particular, we are redesigning our drivetrain so it is compatible with swerve drive. This project therefore gives knowledge in both drivetrain design, and swerve design! Not to mention, swerve modules can be modified, upgraded, and redesigned over and over, allowing for almost unlimited improvements and learning opportunities!
Much like any new challenge, the programmers will have their work cut out for them! This applies here to! I actually already programmed all the math and logic, and have an idea for a curve command. In fact, I already did the math for it! Super excited to be working with swerve! This also creates more programming projects for the entire team, which gives the younger students more meaningful work!
Lastly, swerve is a great investment. In my opinion, there has never been a bad year for swerve (I would say a rugged swerve would have survived 2016!). Maneuverability and the ability to counter some defense bots is incredible! So, to keep up with the innovation and development of drivetrains in FRC, I believe its necessary to invest in swerve early, and stay ahead of the game!
So, that's what I have to say about swerve and other drivetrains.
So here we are.
My final kickoff and season (as a student 😉)!
Regarding COVID-19, it sucks. But, there's nothing we can do.
I applaud FIRST and FRC, as I feel they are doing all they can to ensure the safety of our students, mentors, and spectators. I think they have done an excellent job integrating more than just robots into this season!
So, overall, am I happy? Yes. Would I change it if I could? Yes.
By forfeiting a normal season, we lose so much of what matters in FIRST: community, togetherness, and that indescribable feeling we get at competitions we get when something goes right (or wrong!).
I think I'll get over it though. Look on the brightside: at least we're with our teams, FIRST is still together, and the FRC community and game have branched out even more!
I know this blog was a longer one, so once again,
Thanks for reading,
The Questionable Programmer
