SpaceLS, a rocket company in the UK, has asked Beatty Robotics to team up with them to pursue a mission to put a rover on the moon. The first step in the process is for Beatty Robotics to design and construct a prototype for SpaceLS to use for testing, experimentation, and development. We’ve been working hard on the project, but we’ve been so busy we haven’t had time to take any pictures until now! Here are our first photos of the Lunar Rover’s rocker-bogie suspension system, counter rotating universal joint, steering servos, motors, and wheels. We designed the wheels to be large (6+” diameter) and wide for traveling through lunar ash. All the components of the robot will be machined out of aluminum, titanium, and carbon fiber. When it’s done, the robot will be solar powered and run on an Intel Edison. These are work-in-progress photos. The robot’s core/body, solar panels, video/sensor mast head, and other components are not shown.
Back in November of 2011 we posted an article about our first Spirit II Mars Rover. Among other things, that rover included a counter-rotating differential (or universal joint) integrated into its rocker-bogie suspension system. If the front wheel on the left side of the rover went upward over a large obstacle, then the differential would push the three wheels on the right side downward, and vice versa. Its purpose was to stabilize the rover when traversing rough terrain. We made that first counter-rotating differential from bevel gears, aluminum rods, aluminum plates, and screws. Its shafts were connected to each side of the rocker-bogie suspension system. The function was simple: If either of the shafts rotated, then it caused the other shaft to rotate in the opposite direction. Our original version worked quite well, but it was also large, bulky, and a bit difficult to keep running smoothly.
Recently, our friends at Actobotics / ServoCity sent us a couple of their new bevel gears to try out. It’s cool how a few new parts can fire up your imagination and get you thinking. We decided to see if we could create a new counter-rotating differential for a future Mars Rover project. We were very pleased with the results. The new differential is much smaller than the old version, so it will fit nicely inside the box of a Mars Rover, and its operation is smooth and robust. Camille took all the photos of the new differential.
THE NEW COUNTER-ROTATING DIFFERENTIAL
CLOSE-UP OF THE NEW COUNTER-ROTATING DIFFERENTIAL
CAMILLE’S ARTISTIC BACK-LIT SHOT OF THE COUNTER-ROTATING DIFFERENTIAL
OUR ORIGINAL COUNTER-ROTATING DIFFERENTIAL
THE ORIGINAL DIFFERENTIAL IN THE PARTIALLY COMPLETED SPIRIT II MARS ROVER. ONLY THE LEFT-SIDE WHEELS ARE IN PLACE.
