Massive RC Rover Reboots Itself as Version 2

If you’d like to have your own RC rover, but haven’t been able to find something with enough toughness and all-terrain capabilities, you…

Jeremy Cook
6 years agoRobotics

If you’d like to have your own RC rover, but haven’t been able to find something with enough toughness and all-terrain capabilities, you might consider building a copy (or new iteration) of Taylor Alexander’s Rover V2. As far as RC vehicles go, it’s absolutely massive, taking up most of the room in the rear area of an SUV.

Aside from a big frame — and correspondingly huge off-road wheels — it features an actuated suspension system which sets each wheel at an angle to the frame. These wheels are each powered by their own motor, along with an 11:1 two-stage planetary gearbox to compensate for their large diameter. The resulting off-road capabilities are demonstrated in the first video below, where he takes it to the park, and features it traversing curbs and rolling down stairs. As seen in the second video, where he explains more about the project itself, he proves that it can also go up stairs, though only those of a reasonable size.

A Raspberry Pi 3 provides the brains of the vehicle, and each motor is controlled by its own VESC unit. RGBW LEDs are implemented for headlights and taillights, giving it nearly infinite color capabilities. While impressive, Alexander notes that he was able to develop this impressive rover in just 9 months of work using a $1,000 3D printer. He hopes his build will inspire others in their own robotic endeavors.

[h/t: Hacker News]

Jeremy Cook
Engineer, maker of random contraptions, love learning about tech. Write for various publications, including Hackster!
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