Modernistic Omni Directional Drive and Drive Train for Hobby Robotics

The world market of robotics is expected to increase substantially in the next 20yr, surpassing the market of industrial robotics in terms of units and sales. Important fields of application are homeland security, surveillance, demining, reconnaissance in dangerous situations and agriculture. The design or selection of robotic drive system for unstructured environments is generally complex. This paper sets out to analyse the state-of-the-art of Omni directional drive and drive train system. Qualitative Comparison among mostly utilized Omni directional drives (Swerve, Holonomic and Mecanum) have compared on basis of conceptuality, wheels, feasibility to build, program & control, loading capacity and traction. Along with that qualitative Comparison of drive train systems have been tabulated for specific operating requirements. Focussing on solutions for hobby robotics has been compared, in order to help designers to select the optimal solution. The current and future trends of Omni directional drives are also outlined.