Axel Rover, 2 wheels are all you need! |
Axel Rover, 2 wheels are all you need! |
Feb 6 2009, 02:02 AM
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#1
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1281 Joined: 18-December 04 From: San Diego, CA Member No.: 124 |
Demo video of the Axel tethered rover - we could have used this to rappel down Victoria!
Axel Rover More info here. And here And here. -------------------- Lyford Rome
"Zis is not nuts, zis is super-nuts!" Mathematician Richard Courant on viewing an Orion test |
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Feb 6 2009, 05:30 AM
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#2
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1729 Joined: 3-August 06 From: 43° 35' 53" N 1° 26' 35" E Member No.: 1004 |
This remembers me of one of the old designs for the 1960s Prospector lunar rover
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Feb 6 2009, 06:42 AM
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#3
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1229 Joined: 24-December 05 From: The blue one in between the yellow and red ones. Member No.: 618 |
This is mind-blowing.
The winch in the middle is exactly what I need to install in the 'abdomen' of my spelunking spider, SHELOB, to explore Martian caves. The main difference is that my cable will have a fiber-optic core to transmit instructions, data, and video between the surface base station and the subterranean (sorry, don't know the Mars term) probe. I still prefer the six or eight legged spider design to provide long legs for climbing up over bouldery rubble obstructions, and to provide a spacious, stable platform for cameras and other sensors, laser spectrometer, sampling 'mandible', and an exobiology-lab-in-a-shoebox. But, hey, these guys and I are all on the same page. Bliss. -------------------- My Grandpa goes to Mars every day and all I get are these lousy T-shirts!
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Feb 6 2009, 09:18 AM
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#4
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Member Group: Members Posts: 293 Joined: 22-September 08 From: Spain Member No.: 4350 |
It looks like some sort of Framsticks creature.
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Feb 6 2009, 09:26 AM
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#5
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Member Group: Members Posts: 593 Joined: 20-April 05 Member No.: 279 |
Major flashback time. I made one of these nearly forty years ago. From a Ladybird book using (as per the link) a wooden cotton reel, pencil, rubber band and a chunk of wax.
Andy, momentarily back in 1970. |
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Feb 6 2009, 11:54 AM
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#6
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 3516 Joined: 4-November 05 From: North Wales Member No.: 542 |
Andy, momentarily back in 1970. . . and Nigel likewise a few years earlier. I used to make big ones out of cable reels. A wacky question comes to mind. Could mechanical energy storage using elastic or springs (I'm guessing flywheels would be too heavy) have any extra-terrestrial robotic applications? |
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Feb 6 2009, 11:56 AM
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#7
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Founder Group: Chairman Posts: 14431 Joined: 8-February 04 Member No.: 1 |
As I said on Twitter - A Mississippi Steam Boat captain just called. He wants his paddle wheels back.
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Feb 6 2009, 07:54 PM
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#8
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1281 Joined: 18-December 04 From: San Diego, CA Member No.: 124 |
I love that the project page at CalTech lets you see the guts!
Shaka - speaking of "same page" - I assume you have seen these critters? -------------------- Lyford Rome
"Zis is not nuts, zis is super-nuts!" Mathematician Richard Courant on viewing an Orion test |
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Feb 6 2009, 08:20 PM
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#9
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1229 Joined: 24-December 05 From: The blue one in between the yellow and red ones. Member No.: 618 |
Yeah! LEMUR! Other-side-of-the-pillow cool. Del Palmer put me onto it back in the original cave explorer thread.
Definitely a step in the right direction! I hope work is continuing to make it a really agile rock climber. -------------------- My Grandpa goes to Mars every day and all I get are these lousy T-shirts!
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