Collaborate Disseminate
Solar power is not just a great energy source on Earth, it can work on the Moon and Mars too. But there are some places that a solar-powered rover just can’t reach, like the Moon’s polar regions that are permanently in shadow. Now, ESA has outlined a n… Continue reading Laser-powered rover is designed to explore the Moon’s eternal darkness
Scope creep is a real pain in the real world, but for projects of passion it can have some interesting consequences. [rctestflight] was playing around with 3D printed rover gearboxes, which morphed into a 3D printed tank build.
[rctestflight]’s previous autonomous rover project had problems with the cheap geared …read more
Continue reading Autonomous 3D Rover With Tank Tracks Rules The Fields. Almost
The solar panel technology we have available today doesn’t really lend itself to practical everyday transport. But when speed isn’t a concern, it can make for some very interesting autonomous rovers. One example of this is [Daniel Riley] aka [rctestflight]’s solar powered rover, which he built to live autonomously at …read more
Organic compounds have been discovered on Mars in recent years – but how did they get there? A new study examines the different ways that one type in particular, thiophene, may have formed, and intriguingly one of the most plausible scenarios involves … Continue reading Organic molecules on Mars may be evidence of ancient life
The microcontrollers are cheap, the sensors are cheap, even the motors are cheap. So why are all the good wheeled robotics platforms so expensive? [Dimitris Platis] wanted to develop an affordable platform for experimenting with rovers, but the cheap plastic chassis he was using gave him all sorts of problems. …read more
Continue reading ESP32 Rover With PCB Chassis is Ready to Roll
NASA is looking for help in designing a vital element of a rover that could one day explore Earth’s hellish twin, Venus. The component would allow the rover to safely explore the surface, and would have to be capable of enduring an incredibly hostile e… Continue reading NASA wants you to design part of its future Venus rover
Out in the countryside, having a cow or to wouldn’t be a big deal. You can have a cattle shed full of them, and no one will bat an eyelid. But what if you’re living in the big city and have no need of pet dogs or cats, but a …read more
Continue reading Faux Cow Munches Faux Grass On A Faux Roomba
India’s Chandrayaan-2 mission to the Moon was, in a word, ambitious. Lifting off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on July 22nd, the mission hoped to simultaneously deliver an orbiter, lander, and rover to our nearest celestial neighbor. The launch and flight to the Moon went off without a hitch, …read more
Many moons ago, in the shadowy darkness of the 1990s, a young Lewin visited his elder cousin. An adept AMOS programmer, he had managed to get his Amiga 500 to control an RC car, with little more than a large pile of relays and guile. Everything worked well, but there …read more
Continue reading A 4G Rover And The Benefits Of A Shakedown Mission