Jaluro's First Test Drive
Tobi promised that Jaluro will drive before Christmas '08 and so here it is.
View ArticleThe Definitive Guide to Open Source Hardware - 2008
Again this year MAKE Magazine blog has publishes the annual Open Source Hardware Guide listing no less than 60 open source hardware projects, ranging from simple microcontroller boards to a fully...
View ArticleThe Moon with a Webcam
I am working on a setup where I'm trying to mount a cheap webcam onto my Meade ETX-90 telescope for terrestrial observations. While I was working on the setup the other night I looked out the window...
View ArticleOne rover, two rovers... many rovers?
If you have followed Team FREDNET during the last few months you have probably noticed that our team members are working on two very different rover designs. Why do we develop several designs instead...
View ArticleMooncast Simulation in HD
While working on our on-board video processing pipeline we reached a point where we needed a test video that would be representative of a mooncast for the Google Lunar X PRIZE. Using a regular video is...
View ArticleSteering Gearbox with Redundant Motors for WRV1
Jörg posted an update on the steering Gearbox using two stepper motors (for redundancy) and the shaft for moving the two WRV1 halves. From WRV1: Wheeled Rover Vehicle 1
View ArticleUpdated wheel hub and blueprints for WRV1
It has been a busy week both at my daytime job, which pays my bills, and my nighttime job, FREDNET. In the meantime Jörg has uploaded an updated wheel design for WRV1 as well as some blueprints hoping...
View ArticleAsk Charlie: Is it possible to stabilize a 2-wheel robotic vehicle?
Yes, it's about JALURO :-)Charlie Masi from Control Engineering blogged about our 2-wheel rover prototype and the control challenges we are faced with. While the 2-wheel setup with underslung chassis...
View ArticleTwo-wheel robot shoots for the Moon
It has been brought to my attention that in addition to the Ask Charlie Blog there is also an article in Control Engineering about Team FREDNET, JALURO , and the Google Lunar X PRIZE in general. You...
View ArticlePicorover
Okay, here is the newest entrant in our rover design competition that has caused a lot of discussions on our forum during the last few days: A moving sphere with two degrees of freedom. Enjoy!
View ArticlePicorover photos and sketches
Picorover has now its own photo album, which contains more photos and drawings than were included in the video posted few days ago.
View ArticleUpdate from the Team FREDNET Lunar Babies Club
In the big rush I almost forgot to bring you the latest edition of this rather occasional newsletter - shame on me...Lunar Baby no. 2Aaron Magnus Krieger-Kuritko, born 27 Nov 2008 20:00 GMT. Weight:...
View ArticleFeature Recognition and Tracking
Autonomous feature recognition and tracking can be a useful navigational aid during the final phase of the lunar landing. This video shows a quick-hack prototype for recognizing and continuously...
View ArticleScheduled Radio Contact with the ISS
If you happen to live in Europe, you'll have the chance to listen to the astronauts from the International Space Station as they talk to students from Städtisches Gymnasium Herzogenrath in Germany. The...
View ArticleJaluro off the Leash
Let's round off this week with some breaking news about Jaluro and a story about just how crazy we are.Jaluro is now off the leash! You may remember the first Jaluro video posted about 6 weeks ago when...
View ArticleNews from Vietnam
Inspired by our Open Source Communication Lab, our friends from Vietnam have started to play with software radios using the USRP and GNU Radio. After a few weeks of study they are now able to receive...
View ArticleArianespace Launches New WebTV Site
If you like to watch rocket launches you might be glad to know that Arianespace has launched a new WebTV site called VideoCorner just a few days ago.They broadcast live coverage, the next one 12 Feb...
View ArticleWRV1 Wheel Hubs
Jörg has now finished manufacturing four wheel hubs for the WRV1 rover prototype. For reference, I have also included the blueprint that has been posted earlier. Personally, I am very impressed by...
View ArticleSteering Unit for the WRV1 Lunar Rover
The steering unit in the middle of the WRV1 lunar rover is a critical component because it defines the dynamical properties of the rover - in particular its ability to maneuver. Jörg has now...
View ArticleFinished WRV1 wheels
I can tell you Jörg has been busy this week but now he has finished two wheels for the WRV1 lunar rover (and we still have the prototype with the disc hub). Have a nice weekend everybody - we'll be...
View ArticleHappy Birthday Ørsted
Today, Feb 23 2009, we could celebrate the 10th anniversary of the first Danish satellite called Ørsted. The main scientific objective of the Ørsted mission was to map the Earth's magnetic field and...
View ArticleScaled WRV1 wheel design for the Jaluro lunar rover
As some people have already noticed, one of the advantages of having several competing rover designs being developed in an open-source way is that they can share common components across the designs....
View ArticleNew WRV1 Lunar Rover Mock-up
Here is a new WRV1 lunar rover mock-up from Jörg using the new state of the art wheels, the steering unit and... Stokys (erector set) for the rest. As you can see, there is even plenty of room left for...
View ArticleCan a Picorover Climb a Slope?
The Picorover team consisting of Raul, Enric and Joshua (leader) are very busy with keeping up to speed with the development of the other rover concepts (Jaluro and WRV1). The Picorover concept has a...
View ArticlePicorover with Spikes!
The plain Picorover with blank surface is quite good at climbing moderate slopes. Nonetheless, people suggested that the climbing capabilities could be improved by adding spikes to the surface of the...
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