Skip to main content

4wd vs 2wd? A Drive System Comparison

By
A couple days ago, my FLL team was designing a robot for next year's robot game, when we came to an unanswerable question: Should we use 4wd or 2wd?
Being their mentor, I encouraged a more 'scientific' way of deciding by creating a chart, and this is what they came up with:

4 Wheel Drive
  1. Slippage occurs during turning
  2. Navigates more terrains smoothly
  3. Uses more battery power
  4. Capable of in place turning
  5. Goes straighter
  6. The robot has more support
  7. Must use gears / pulleys to transmit power but has unnecessary gear lash
  8. The chassis usually becomes a boxy shape

2 Wheel Drive

  1. Free-er turns
  2. It is more difficult to navigate all terrains
  3. Uses less battery power
  4. No in place turning
  5. More likely to drift
  6. Have to use a caster wheel or other means of support
  7. Could be directly connected to motor and not risk slop
  8. The chassis usually becomes a rectangular kind of shape

Both drive systems have been used successfully in the past. A good example are the two 1st Place Robot Peoformance Winners: 1221 Built on the Rock had a stable and versatile 4wd robot while 4 Mindstorms Troopers had a simple and speedy 2wd drive robot.

We would also like to ask you to contribute to our comparison. So comment away!

Robolab 2.9

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Celebrating MINDSTORMS with a Remix - Part 2

By Asha Seshan - ROBOTMAK3R
The ROBOTMAK3RS continued their celebration of the 25th Anniversary of MINDSTORMS through these summer and fall remix projects. Each ROBOTMAK3R was tasked with selecting one LEGO set of their choice and combining it with a MINDSTORMS set. Below are the five amazing models they came up with. Remote controlled material handle r by Jozua van Ravenhorst (aka Mr Jo) This remix combines the LEGO Technic Material Handler (42144) with MINDSTORMS EV3 (31313) It uses the power of pneumatic cylinders to move objects around. By using a bluetooth remote control, very precise movements can be made with this model. Touch sensors in the base chassis prevent the turret twisting the cables that go through the turntable to much. The program has several protections to prevent over pressurizing the system for each of the 3 individual pumps and valves that control the 2 booms and claws. The real version of this machine is mostly used in waste material sites to bring the material to machines that sort and
Read more

Celebrating 25 Years of MINDSTORMS

By Asha Seshan - ROBOTMAK3R
In celebration of the 25th Anniversary of MINDSTORMS, we take a trip through history. Please also visit ROBOTMAK3RS Community every week as we highlight different projects all through 2023 in celebration of the anniversary. Some of the early history is based on the content shared by  Coder Shah  in our  MINDSTORMS EV3 Community Group . Some of the text and links may have been edited from his original posts for consistency and clarity.  1984 - Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen watched a TV program called "Talking Turtle," where MIT professor Seymour Papert demonstrated how children could control robot "turtles" using LOGO, a programming language he developed. 1988 - The collaboration between MIT and LEGO resulted in LEGO TC Logo in 1988, which allowed students to control LEGO models using computer commands. The video shows Papert demonstrating TC Logo. 1990 - LEGO TC Logo was hampered since the robots you built had to be tethered to a personal computer. LEGO and MIT
Read more

MINDSTORMS Retires!

By Asha Seshan - ROBOTMAK3R
2023 is the 25th Anniversary of the MINDSTORMS brand. For 25 years, MINDSTORMS has educated and inspired a generation of robot builders, both children and adults. Unfortunately, the LEGO Group decided to end the line on December 2022. Many ROBOTMAK3RS have been passionately involved with the development of MINDSTORMS through the MUP and MCP programs. Even with the newest Robot Inventor line, several ROBOTMAK3RS were invited to submit additional bonus models that were included in the official app. Regardless of the retirement of a major LEGO robotics product line, ROBOTMAK3RS continue to MAKE-SHARE-INSPIRE using all LEGO robotics platforms available to us. Here is the official statement from LEGO. Since its launch in September 1998, LEGO MINDSTORMS has been one of the core ‘Build & Code’ experiences in the company’s portfolio, carrying with it significant brand equity and becoming a stand-out experience for the early days of consumer robotics and leading to current Build & Code
Read more