Drive Styles

There are many different drivetrains you can have for robotics competitions. Each drive is unique from the other and each have their own advantage over the other.

Regular Four-Wheel Drive

This drive is the most commonly used drive train because of its compact and simple design. This drive train allows for other parts to fit easily such as gear towers and lifts. It is also really easy to make compared to the other drives and also has very sturdy chassis. This drive is ideal for robots that have limited space for their chassis.

The U-Drive style allows the robot to travel in any direction with ease, and because of its boxy structure the chassis is sturdy and easier to mount to. However, not all motors are used to travel in a single direction, thus limiting the amount of power your drive can output. This drive is ideal for competitions where full motion of the robot and space become an issue.

Holonomic Drive Train (X - Drive style)

The X drive style is one of the more faster and agile drives. Its unique position of its wheels allow the robot to go in any direction without losing power nor speed. It does, however, make it harder to mount other structures to the robot because of its angled chassis. This drive style is best used when the robot needs to be able to move in any direction.

The mecanum drive is essentially the X drive, however, the wheels are placed in a straight linear fashion. This drive uses the unique mecaum wheels which have slanted spokes in them allowing the wheel to move diagonal. When all 4 wheels are placed on the robot the robot can go forward, side to side, and angled just like the X - drive.

This drive style takes the best of the X drive and the U drive and puts them together. The two back pointed wheels allow the robot to move side to side, and the straight wheels in the front give enough space for the intake. However, the drive is in-efficient and do not move as quickly or agile as the X drive or the U drive alone. This drive style is ideal when space, motion, and speed are an issue.

The tank drive is the same exact drive you see on military tanks and construction equipment. This drive style has lots of traction and can work on very rugged terrain. However, the drive is slower than the other drives because of its heavy weight; it also cannot turn easily. This drive is ideal when there is a large obstacle the robot has to go over. Check out this video of a Demo bot we have made that goes over the bump in the VEX Toss Up game.