If you ever, for some reason, feel like you want to build your own functional rover, NASA is offering the blueprints, codes and materials for one, for free. All you need is around $2,500 and a little tech-savviness.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory initially wanted to create something smaller and less complex than the Curiosity rover, which they could use for educational purposes. The rover they built was called ROV-E and it traveled with the JPL team for a while.
It so happened that one of the questions they got asked most often by the classes or groups they showcased ROV-E to was if they could build one of their own. Unfortunately, the answer was no, simply due to the costs involved and the complexity of the system. But the JPL engineers, being the cool guys that they are, decided to offer a less complex and less expensive option to those who were interested. So the JPL Open Source Rover was born. And they put it up for grabs on GitHub.
The rover is similar component-wise to the Curiosity but everything is simplified and you can use off-the-shelf components for it easily. The plans for the rover call for a 6-wheel design with a rocker-bogie suspension, corner steering and pivoting differential, all of which allow movement over rough terrain.
The brain holding it together is a Raspberry Pi.
Builders can make their own decisions concerning what other features they might want to include, as the engineers allowed plenty of wriggle room in their plans. You can opt in to solar panels or USB cameras if you feel like it, but it will all take a toll on the battery, of course.
Most of the tools you’d need are pretty common, so if you like a bit of a challenge and have somewhat of an idea of what you’re doing, there’s no excuse for you not to give it a shot.
Follow TechTheLead on Google News to get the news first.
