Though we obviously have a few big robots we’ve built for competitions, we at Missouri S&T’s Robotics Competition Team now have a much smaller addition. Our new pint-sized robot, which we’ve given the name Micro Prime (or μPrime), uses an advanced drive mechanism called swerve drive. Basically, this means that it can immediately go in any direction. Micro Prime simply turns all of its wheels to point towards where it needs to move (its wheels have a huge range of motion) and takes off. Because this robot only needs to turn its wheels, it can be more efficient than normal robots which must curve around and turn their entire body to face towards where they want to go (like cars). Also new for the team, Micro Prime is controlled completely using an onboard Raspberry Pi computer and it’s chassis is primarily 3D printed using the team’s very own 3D printer. Though we’re still working on Micro Prime, it’s already fully driveable (swerve drive and all) and able to zip around on the floor in any direction without needing to turn around. New features such as a color sensor will also be added soon. We’ll keep you posted.