Personal Exploration Rover
Based on Bipedal Linear Inverted Pendulum
The Personal Exploration Rover (PER) made its debut in science centers across the nation in January 2004, coinciding with the landing and exploration of Mars by NASA’s Mars Exploration Rovers. I was fortunate enough to acquire one of these remarkable rovers recently. However, given that its components are nearly two decades old, I decided to repurpose them into an art installation (see Project 3D Art).
This transformation has provided me with a unique opportunity: an empty canvas to redesign the PER system almost from scratch. I am utilizing an NVIDIA Jetson TK1 board as the computational platform, leveraging its powerful capabilities to handle complex processing tasks. For autonomous navigation in controlled environments, I plan to equip the rover with a stereo camera, a lidar, and an IMU. These sensors will enable the rover to perceive its surroundings, make informed decisions, and navigate autonomously.
Additionally, I am in the process of renaming this reimagined rover, though the new name is still a work in progress. As I embark on this exciting project, I will be documenting the entire process, from design and development to testing and deployment. Stay tuned for detailed updates and insights into the challenges and breakthroughs encountered along the way. The full details of the project will be posted here as more updates become available.