The aim of this project is to develop a prototype of a rover that can be driven and controlled remotely as part of the systems engineering course.
The project was realized by Elisabeth Roth, Felix Schrenk, Philipp Süß & Raphael Zaiser
Mechanics
- We used 20mm*20mm aluminum profile rails from Item to build the basic frame of our rover
- The motor mount, a box to hold the electrics and the adapter between the wheel and motor were printed using a 3D printer
- We decided on an outer diameter of 13 cm for the wheels
This was chosen to match the speed of the motor so as not to exceed a maximum speed of 6 km/h - The motors were screwed into the 3D printed motor mounts, which are attached to the item profile
The adapter could then be attached to the motor shaft - The tire was attached to the shaft adapter from the outside and fastened with screws
Electronics
- A 12 V DC geared motor was chosen as the rover should only have a very low speed
A motor driver was also required to control the motors
This was selected based on the supply voltage, max. switching capacity and max. operating current - A lithium-ion battery was used for the rechargeable battery and a suitable charger was also purchased
- In addition, a step-down converter was used to convert the operating voltage of 11.1 V down to the required output voltage of 5 V
- An emergency stop switch was also installed
Software
- A Raspberry Pi was used as the central control computer
- In addition, a program to control the motors was written in Python. This allows the rover to be controlled remotely via a controller
- PWM signals are used to control the transistors, the motor driver and thus the motor voltages
- The drivers are also supplied with 3.3 V from the Raspberry Pi
Outlook
The rover is to be continuously developed further and equipped with additional features such as a gripper arm, all-wheel steering or a camera.
Our long-term goal is to take part in the European Rover Challenge
