Arcade Drive

Arcade drive combines forward movement and turning into a single joystick pair.

Instead of controlling each side independently, one joystick controls forward and backward movement while another controls rotation.

This makes driving more intuitive for many drivers.

Basic Controls

A common setup is:

• Left joystick Y controls forward and backward movement.
• Right joystick X controls turning.

The program combines these values to determine how much power each motor should receive.

Mixing Inputs

The simplest arcade drive algorithm is:

double drive = -gamepad1.left_stick_y;
double turn = gamepad1.right_stick_x;

double leftPower = drive + turn;
double rightPower = drive - turn;

As the driver turns, one side speeds up while the other slows down.

Advantages

• Easier for beginners
• Only one joystick controls movement
• Smooth steering
• Simple implementation

Disadvantages

Arcade drive still cannot move sideways.

For FTC robots with mecanum wheels, robot-centric or field-centric mecanum drive provides much greater mobility.

Next Steps

Most FTC robots use mecanum wheels, allowing movement in every direction.

Continue to Mecanum Drive.