[Robotics] Robot Drive Simulation With Blender - First Robotics Competition

[Peter Worden]

This is my first year with First Robotics team 3277.  The first thing I
thought about when I was told we would like to try the swerve, also known
as crab, drive was that simulation would be nice.  I thought immediately of
Blender and found this group has a shared interest.  I think that First
Robotics teams would all benefit from being able to create their code and
test in simulation mode with Blender providing the means.

I don't know how a Java or C++ application written in Eclipse could
communicate with Blender, but it sure would be nice.

One of the main problems had by many teams is the inability to program
efficiently due to lack of access to a prototype or the actual robot itself
due to designing and fabrication that takes place leaving a crunch for time
on the programming phase.  I was recently shown a video giving examples of
the problem and then some.  http://youtu.be/b1ujooRbqg4?t=2m16s

We may not end up using the swerve drive due to lack of parts availability,
but that doesn't nullify the need for prototyping and simulation.

Respectfully,
Peter Worden
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