I was just wondering what the benefits of having double drivers are. I saw that many people do double drivers, but wouldn’t that just be more complicated? What are the pros and cons of having 2 drivers drive at the same time? How does it work?
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Do you mean 2 people that swap driving or 2 separate controlors?
The only people I have ever seen using 2 controllers are Vex U teams as they have 2 robots per team.
It would make sense in a game with 2 different systems that need to be controlled by different people. Like driving and pointing a turret but In Over Under it doesn’t make much sense as all the actions done by a robot are based on what the driver wants to do and so controlled by the driver;
Actually it’s quite common for VRC as well in some years, one focuses on the actual driving, the partner controller controls other mechanisms, lift, claw etc.
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That’s very interesting, I guess it depends on the region 
I have met most of the teams in nz and none of them use dual controller.
Last year 2 of the Vex U teams had turrets but they just aimed them automatically.
We only had like 3-4 Vex U teams and the best one, Wingus and Dungus stopped this season 
Hello! To clarify, I meant two people, and two controllers controlling the robot at the same time. I saw one team that had one person controlling the drivetrain, and the other controlling the other subsystems like the intake and outtake 
I too can confirm i havent seen any vrc teams with 2 controllers. In nz
It can be useful if the two drivemembers work well together and has great timing. Often this does require practice together. So it can be good but if you have little no practice together then it will ne much harder and slower. Also depends on how controls are split
The only real advantage i see is the ability to control more mechanism easier since you have more buttons. BUT a huge downside is that both drivers have to be together in order to practice and it takes alot of practice to get perfectly synced up ( and in stressful situation anything could go wrong and as soon as their is a slight mess up it might throw the other driver off as well) . I would suggest sticking to one driver and printing out some Scuffs for your controller to make button pressing easier.
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I’ve known teams that have switched mid game like in spin up when one driver was better at shooting and the other was better at defensive play like endgame but i think they just handed the controller off compared to using two.
I ran dual controllers for a couple of years, where one person would move the drivetrain and the other would do all the mechanisms.
I would not recommend this, it worked but not nearly as well as a single driver.
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My students have driven as tandem drivers. There are SEVERAL benefits especially for complex designs with multiple subsystems. There are also a few issues that can be created while driving tandem.
Pros:
Dividing the controls between two controllers allows team members to focus on their assigned portion of the robot. Teams can often work two mechanisms at the same time allowing them to have better control of the robot during game play.
Cons:
It requires a great deal of communication with the team members. Not all teams members can handle the level of communication and team work required to drive as a tandem team.
I would definately practice driving in practice several times prior to attempting this at a tournament.
BEST OF LUCK!
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Hi, I’m a tandem driver user for 4 years now. Personally I think the pros outweighs the cons.
The pros are that the person driving the robot itself can completely focus on that and where they want to go and the strategy, whereas the person controlling the mechanisms only has to think about using them.
The cons are that you need two drivers that have exceptional communication skills, especially nonverbal. The drivers I have partnered with before and am currently partnered with just kind of know exactly what the other wants to do since we think so alike. Eg. I start picking up and moving triballs and suddenly stop and go towards the match load zone to block, my teammate will often have the blocker extended before I even have fully turned towards that direction.
All in all, tandem driving can be extremely powerful, but you do need very strong communication skills as well as a similar thinking pattern to pull it off well.
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