[Dprglist] NASA's CADRE Shoebox-Sized Robot Rovers

[Rud Merriam]

The NASA Space Robotics Challenge 2 was a swarm of robots searching and 
mining materials. They were much sleeker than Viper 
<https://www.nasa.gov/feature/ames/vipers-many-brains-are-better-than-one>.

My robots for the NASA Sample Return Robot Challenge were 6 Wheel Wild 
Thumpers. (Some videos: 
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLo9blbzvWvrG9_Mkug2W6FMsEww7IsKXv) 
They were the smallest and least expensive rovers in that competition. 
That is a nice chassis. One problem I encountered was on some turns 
wheels would lose contact with the ground and just spin. They were 
difficult to rotate in place because of high traction.


-73 -
*Rud Merriam K5RUD*
/Mystic Lake Software/ <http://mysticlakesoftware.com/>

On 11/5/21 8:43 AM, Doug Paradis via DPRGlist wrote:
> Jeff,
>      Here is another good article discussing "CADRE"'s purpose (see: 
> https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/game_changing_development/projects/CADRE 
> <https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/game_changing_development/projects/CADRE>). 
> I wish they showed their rover design a bit more. It looks to have a 
> lot of 3D printed parts in the prototype. Other observations are that 
> each wheel is driven by an individual motor like Dagu Wild Thumper 
> designs (see: https://www.pololu.com/product/1564 
> <https://www.pololu.com/product/1564>) and the top of the final rover, 
> not the test rover, is to be covered with solar cells (see: 
> https://www.autoevolution.com/news/autonomous-rovers-being-tested-in-the-slope-nasa-to-3d-map-the-moon-with-them-173419.html#agal_4 
> <https://www.autoevolution.com/news/autonomous-rovers-being-tested-in-the-slope-nasa-to-3d-map-the-moon-with-them-173419.html#agal_4>). 
> I wish we had a better view of the rover's suspension. That is the 
> design feature that really interests me currently.The rover shown in 
> the article doesn't appear to be a folding robot A-PUFFER variation.
>
>     NASA seems to be really investigating the idea of multiple small 
> robots launched from the delivery vehicle after landing (A-PUFFER and 
> CADRE).
>
> Regards,
> Doug P.
>
> On Thu, Nov 4, 2021 at 8:09 PM Jeff Koenig via DPRGlist 
> <dprglist at lists.dprg.org <mailto:dprglist at lists.dprg.org>> wrote:
>
>     I thought this was interesting.  This is the first time I've heard
>     of NASA's "CADRE" project, and I'm hoping to learn more about it.
>
>     https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/a-cadre-of-mini-rovers-navigate-the-lunar-terrain-of-slope
>     <https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/a-cadre-of-mini-rovers-navigate-the-lunar-terrain-of-slope>
>
>     Best Robo-Regards,
>     Jeff
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