Have you ever wondered what it takes to build a rover like NASA’s Curiosity rover, part of the Mars Science Laboratory project? One would rightfully assume it takes expertise in mechanical engineering, software development, and electronics to even begin to construct such a complex robot. Now students, hobbyists, and enthusiasts can learn about these skills and get a taste of what it is like to construct such a rover using plans and instructions from JPL’s Open Source Rover Project. (…)
The JPL Open Source Rover (OSR) is a scaled down version of Curiosity, from its 6-wheel steering all the way to its Rocker-Bogie suspension. JPL published this design under an open source license on GitHub where anybody can download baseline instructions and test plans for building their own OSR.
“We wanted to give back to the community and lower the barrier of entry by giving hands on experience to the next generation of scientists, engineers, and programmers,” states Tom Soderstrom, the project sponsor for the Open Source Rover. Mik Cox, the project manager adds, “I would love to have had the opportunity to build this rover in high school, and I hope that through this project we provide that opportunity to others.” [More at link]