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Today we focused on planning the CAD for the drivetrain. We decided on a West Coast Drive alternate to Mecanum as it is more robust and we don't need very precise movements. We met with each subteam and discussed what prelim. design ideas they had so we could consider their mechanisms into the drivetrain. 

Climber subteam -- ideal for them to have four wheels on each side as they want to minimize deadspots (places between the wheels) while driving up. Either 6in or 8in wheels for clearance. Clearance in general is also an issue because the bumpers hit the ground. 

Hatch team -- design doesn't require precise movements side to side by the drivetrain, they will integrate that into their hatch mechanism. 

Cargo team -- mechanism will most likely be placed on the side opposite of the hatch team. 

We also did a Atla-Z impact test by driving it off a six inch elevated platform to test the drivetrain ability to withstand impact and the bumper clearance problem. About 75% of the time the robot successfully cleared the elevated platform without visible damage. However, the bumpers did get hit quite a bit while driving off the platform.

Finally, we decided to go with a single speed drivetrain because the distance we need to cover during a match is not sufficient enough to have two speeds. 

- We had difficulty deciding between the 6in or 8in wheels, we still need to run more tests to decide which is better

- We need a way to avoid the dead spots when climbing or dismounting. The dead spots cause the robot to get stuck.

- Bumper clearance is an issue at the moment as there is a regulation on how high or low they can be. Right now the bumpers are too low, preventing the robot from being able to climb or dismount without the bumpers scraping the floor.

Next meeting, details of the drivetrain will be finalized. These include dimensions of wheels and extrusions, gearbox design, number of wheels, type of wheel. To decide on those criteria we will use various sketches of the drivetrain. Once the mentioned are completed, CADing will begin. 

Yes, the drivetrain CAD is on schedule to be finished by Friday (1/11).