rover
Latest
ESA's six-wheeled Mars bot prototypes ready to kick some martian ass
ESA is showing off its new "ExoMars" bots, Bruno and Bradley, who are being prepped for a 2015 mission to the red planet. The six-wheeled bots are being designed to carry a significant scientific payload, oriented around the search for life, but won't slouch in the maneuverability department, with six independently rotating wheels. In addition to independent movement, the wheels can also be locked into "wheel walking mode," where treacherous terrain can be traversed by crawling instead of rolling over it. On the AI front, Bruno and Bradley have significantly better AI than their progenitors, being able to plot their own courses and therefore cover more ground. The mission will involve traversing the planet and drilling six feet into the ground for soil samples, which the rover will be able to examine in its on-board laboratory. The only problem now is funding: ExoMars is looking to cost about double the 650 million Euros initially approved for the project in 2005, and there's no guarantee (yet) that the extra cash will be there when they need it.
NASA's Mars Opportunity rover falls on hard times
NASA's Mars Opportunity rover has already long outlasted its original 90 day mission, but it looks like the go-getter bot is now really starting to show its age, as NewScientist reports that problems with two key instruments have left the rover "crippled and blinded." As NewScientist points out, however, these latest issues are far from the first to plague Opportunity (and its counterpart, Spirit), and it's still suffering from a malfunctioning wheel and an "arthritic" robotic arm, both problems of which first cropped up in 2005. While NASA has currently suspended all work involving the rover's rock grinding tool and its infrared spectrometer, it's apparently hoping to get the spectrometer back up and running by shaking off some of the dust causing the problems, and at least one NASA official expects both rovers to keep "going for years more."
NASA unveils the Chariot "lunar truck"
NASA sure loves the wacky vehicles, and the agency is mighty proud of its latest effort, the Chariot lunar truck. Designed from start to finish in just a year, the Chariot features 12 wheels driven by two electric motors through a two-speed transmission, allowing it to perform in a "bulldozer" mode with up to 4000 pounds of force or cruise at up to fifteen miles an hour. The modular design also means that the steel alloy frame can be fitted with several different crew / payload combinations, including a small pressurized cabin and a sample collector. There's no telling when the Chariot might be deployed, of course, but we're not going to be convinced until we see it stop a plane or drive through a swinging girder obstacle course.[Thanks, xenocide]
Carnegie Mellon shows off "Scarab" lunar rover
It looks like the moon could soon become a relatively crowded place if even half of all these robots and rovers we keep hearing about actually get off the ground, the latest of which comes to us from Carnegie Mellon University. Dubbed the "Scarab," this four-wheeled bot is equipped with a Canadian-made drill capable of obtaining meter-long geological core samples, which its creators hope could turn up evidence of hydrogen, water or other recoverable resources. While it's appearance would suggest otherwise, the Scarab apparently won't be tearing up the lunar surface if and when it gets there, with it boasting a top speed of just four inches per second. On the upside, it will apparently be able to maneuver over rocky surfaces, and it can anchor itself to the ground to stay in place while drilling. While that would be enough for most folks to call it a day, it seems that project leader William "Red" Whittaker won't be resting on his lunar laurels, as he's also announced that he'll be assembling a team to compete for the Google Lunar X-Prize, which promises $20 million to anyone that can land a privately funded robot on the moon by 2012.[Via The Raw Feed]
NASA's Scarecrow rover to scour Mars in 2009
Just months after learning the truth behind the fall of the late Mars Global Surveyor, NASA is already test driving the next great planetary invader. The vehicle, dubbed Scarecrow for its (current) lack of brain matter, is already conquering terrain in the Mars Yard as it prepares for a scheduled launch in 2009. Its sole mission in life will be to "follow the evidence of water that has already been found on the surface of Mars," and just in case any unforeseen hostiles attempt to sabotage its assignment, the engineers have equipped it with a "laser that can pulverize rock from 20 feet away." So much for a peaceful visit.[Via The Raw Feed, image courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech]
Rover SPARC uses IBM backup tech to keep your fav files safe
There's no shortage of backup solutions out there -- just like there's no shortage of people who never get around to it anyways. The Rover SPARC does things a little differently, however. Instead of providing a massive storage solution for all your files, the Rover SPARC uses IBM's "Continuous Data Protection" to keep track of your most precious files, and back them up on the fly as changes are made. The wallet-sized drive comes in 2GB and 4GB flavors for $100 and $130, respectively, and while both sizes aren't going to back up your OS, program, or media folders anytime soon, emails, contacts and other must-haves should fit just fine. If you're incredibly unlucky, the "plug & play software" saves copies of certain files (including photos) online, but there's a $35 annual fee to keep that going after the first year.
NASA's PILOT project could autonomously extract oxygen from lunar soil
We've got means to extract oxygen from water, a portable bar, and even ways to deprive entire server farms of the sustenance, but a new project being tackled by Lockheed Martin is hoping to create O2 on the moon. A critical part of NASA's PILOT (Precursor In-situ Lunar Oxygen Testbed) initiative, this digger bot will work hand-in-hand with a "processing plant that will add hydrogen to moon soil, heat it to 1,652-degrees Fahrenheit, condense the steam, and finally extract the oxygen." Additionally, the blue LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) box atop the three-foot-long machine can assist it in locating "oxygen-rich lunar soil and autonomously carry it to a processing plant." The overriding goal is to use the newly extracted O2 for air, or moreover, to combine it with hydrogen and produce water for the four astronauts that the lunar base could support. Unfortunately, there's no timetable as to when we'll actually see the PILOT roll into action, but we're most interested in porting this bad boy over to Mars along with half the traffic in LA.[Via The Raw Feed]
RC Rover runs on steam, human fear
Mad scientist Steam-powered RC enthusiast I-Wei Huang, has posted yet another impressive creation over at his website, Crabfu. The six-wheeled RC Steam Rover was born of a decidedly retro-looking Cheddar Puffin engine and two Tamiya 4x4 chassis, using a mixture of butane and propane as fuel. The videos on his site suggest that it won't be breaking any land speed records, but we're still hoping it'll eventually play a part in protecting us from these little steam-powered robots, should they go all Skynet on us.[Via Makezine]
