As the name implies, here at Hackaday we strive to bring you exciting projects every day. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that a project only gets one day to honor these historical pages. Quite the contrary, in fact. We are always happy to revisit a project and discover how far it has evolved since the last time we came across it, especially when the creators themselves come up to give us an update.
Which is exactly what happened when [Jakob Krantz] I recently wrote to catch up on this amazing open source rover project. We first saw this printed in 3D Curiosity robot inspired just under a year ago, and at the time it was essentially just one big box with NASA’s signature rocker-bogie suspension bolted on. Now not only does he look a lot more like the Martian rovers who inspired him, but he also learned a number of new tricks that really take this project to the next level.
The articulated head and gripper arm not only help sell the Curiosity See, they’re actually functional. [Jakob] He points out that it doesn’t have built-in kinematics yet, so moving the arm is more for show than practical application, but in the future you should be able to reach and grab objects. With the new cameras on your head, you can even get a first-person view of what you’re picking up.
Last year [Jakob] He was using a standard RC transmitter to drive the rover, but has since created a custom controller that is truly beautiful. It uses an ESP32 and LoRa module to communicate with the corresponding hardware inside the mobile, as well as a smartphone on top that displays telemetry and video via WiFi. The controller is actually its own separate project, so even if it’s not on the market for a reduced Mars rover, your controller could come in handy for your next robotics project.
Presumably, the multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator (MMRTG) on the back of the rover is only intended … but with this guy, we’re not so sure. Give it another year, and who knows.
