Robo-Magellan
Mechanical
Our final design concept calls for a six-wheeled robot employing a "Rocker-Bogie" type suspension system, as developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratories. This scheme is most widely known for its use on the Sojourner rover in the Mars Pathfinder mission. Its primary benefit is in allowing the robot to climb obstacles of nearly two times the robot's wheel diameter, while still having all six wheels maintain contact with the ground.
Concept
The following are some renderings of the intended configuration for our robot, based on the aforementioned design. All major structural components are comprised of standard extruded aluminum stock, which will minimize the required quantity of complex machining on this project. Note the gear assembly in the middle of the frame; this is a differential responsible for ensuring that the main body of the robot is always at the angular mid-point of the two wheel assemblies, thus maximizing its ability to withstand abnormal terrain.
Current Status
2005-09-22
From a mechanical perspective, the robot is fully operational now. It has been successfully tested in more strenuous environments than those expected at the actual competition.
2005-04-10
The mechanical aspects of the robot are nearly complete now. It is merely awaiting steering motors, and sensor platforms at this point:
This is the differential that allows for independent suspension
This is the mounting for the steering motors. The motors installed were discoved to be too weak to turn the wheels under the weight of the robot.
These are the much more powerful steering motors.
2005-04-05
The mechanical platform is nearly complete!
2005-03-06
Construction of the above design has begun with earnest. The following images depict Nick's latest mechanical work. As can be seen, the frame and bogies for the robot are complete, and we are merely awaiting the completion of some additional suspension components.
