Now that you've finished the build, test what it does. Explore your build and then answer these questions in your engineering notebook.
Where is the pivot point (the point the robot rotates about) for this robot build?
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Make a prediction and then manually move the 4” wheel on one side forward while at the same time moving the 4” wheel on the opposite side backwards at the same rate.
After manually moving both wheels, now describe where the pivot point is. How would the pivot point of the robot change if the Build design was changed so both of the 4” Omni Wheels (steps 14-17) were also powered by motors, making all 4 wheels powered?
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Make a prediction and then manually move both wheels on one side forward while at the same time moving both wheels on the opposite side backwards at the same rate.
After manually moving the wheels again, now describe where the pivot point is. Explain how a robot’s pivot point could change its behavior.
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Answers should include the pivot point moves from between the two drive wheels when only 2 wheels are powered. It will then move to the center of the robot when all 4 wheels are powered. Many explanations are acceptable, such as a robot might smash into an object if only one set of wheels are powered as it turns, but it will spin in place if all the wheels are powered.