Drone Sensor Payload Design Hands On

by

Drone Flying

This post is part of the Hands on Robot Design series. See here for the full list of posts/topics https://robotsforroboticists.com/hands-on-ground-robot–drone-design-series for information on mechanical, electrical, motion control, computing, sensors, and more. Once we had a drone we needed the sensors and computer to make this drone operate. Keeping with the idea of trying to make […]

Drone Design Hands On

by

Drone Flying

This post is part of the Hands on Robot Design series. See here for the full list of posts/topics https://robotsforroboticists.com/hands-on-ground-robot–drone-design-series for information on mechanical, electrical, motion control, computing, sensors, and more. The drones designed for the DARPA SubT challenge needed to be great at flying through tunnels and exploring unknown subterranean environments. The plan was […]

Sensor Payload – Hands On Ground Robot Design

by

sensor payload

This post is part of the Hands on Ground Robot Design series. See here for the full list of posts/topics https://robotsforroboticists.com/hands-on-ground-robot–drone-design-series for information on mechanical, electrical, motion control, computing, sensors, and more. Sensor Selection Based on the system requirements we determined that we needed RGBD cameras in all four directions to help find required artifacts […]

Power System & Soft Start – Hands On Ground Robot Design

by

robot schematic

This post is part of the Hands on Ground Robot Design series. See here for the full list of posts/topics https://robotsforroboticists.com/hands-on-ground-robot–drone-design-series for information on mechanical, electrical, motion control, computing, sensors, and more. Power System The power system of the robot is key for making everything move and for powering all of the sensors and computers. […]

Mechanical & Wheels – Hands On Ground Robot Design

by

modular robot design

This post is part of the Hands on Ground Robot Design series. See here for the full list of posts/topics https://robotsforroboticists.com/hands-on-ground-robot–drone-design-series for information on mechanical, electrical, motion control, computing, sensors, and more. Robot Size Decision After we have the list of system requirements we start with the design of the mechanical structure of the robot. […]

Hands On Ground Robot & Drone Design Series

by

subt robots

Hi all, This is a new series looking at the detailed design of various robots. To start with we will be looking at the design of two different robots that were used for the DARPA Subterranean Challenge. Both of these robots were designed for operating in complex subterranean environments, including Caves, Mines & Urban environments. […]

Book Review: The Design and Engineering of Curiosity

by

Book Cover

As soon as I saw this book existed on Amazon, I instantly wanted to read it. It is not often that I see a book dedicated to the detailed engineering design of a complex robotic system. The Design and Engineering of Curiosity: How the Mars Rover Performs its Job by Emily Lakdawalla did not disappoint. […]

Design Thinking for Robotics and Life

by

Hi all Recently I went to a seminar about design thinking. Design thinking is an approach to solving a problem from any domain. During the seminar people used design thinking to analyze how to automate password recovery, lead a finance team, build an activities team, and others. I used this as an exercise to look […]

Wheel & Grouser Design

by

LRV Wheel

For many robots the wheels are an afterthought however they are essential for letting the robot drive around. Another thing that is often neglected is choosing the proper grousers for your wheel. Most of the design parameters for wheels and grousers are based on experience, intuition (which may or may not be correct) and qualitative […]

Designing for Success – Field Testing Series – Part 2

by

field testing

This post is part of a series on testing robots with a focus on field testing. It will start with why we test robots, work its way through planning for a field test, to performing the test, and finally what to do after the test. We will conclude with a description of many common tests […]

PCB Design Tutorials

by

pcb from OSH Park

Hi all I got a question about PCB design for robots. I am not going to recreate what is already out there so here are some links. UPDATE: Contextual Electronics has released the entire KiCad course online. Check it out here! The two places that I have used to get PCB’s built are: – Advanced […]