BrickEngineer: LEGO Design

LEGO Engineering for LEGO NXT and Robot Enthusiasts

Mars Curiosity Rover Made Entirely of LEGOs


In celebration of the landing of the Mars Science Laboratory, Curiosity, on Mars, Doug Moran and Will Gorman of BattleBricks.com built a LEGO MINDSTORMS model of the Mars Curiosity Rover. The model was part of the Build the Future in Space event at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The LEGO Curiosity Rover relies on 7 NXT Bricks running leJOS NXT. It employs 13 NXT Motors, two Power Function Motors, and 1000+ LEGO Bricks.

An article on the event can be found at inhabitat.com. There is also an article by the creators themselves at BattleBricks.com

LEGO Mars Curiosity Rover

LEGO Mars Curiosity Rover by Doug Moran and Will Gorman of BattleBricks

Here is a video of the rover in action!

Check out LEGOSpace.com to learn more about the long-awaited NASA-LEGO partnership. And be sure to check out what the real Curiosity Rover is experiencing on Mars!

Build Your Own LEGO Mars Science Laboratory Rover (MOC-0271)

Stephen Pakbaz, a mechanical engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) who actually worked on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), also known as NASA’s Curiosity Rover has built a small LEGO model for others to build and enjoy!

Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover LEGO Model

Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover LEGO Model

This model features an offset differential suspension system that works so well on Mars, and this video on Flickr shows that it works well during play as well!

This model comes with free pdf instructions (download here) and a LEGO Digital Designer Model (download here).

More information can be found at LEGOCuusoo.com and Rebrickable.com

One can also build the descent stage and sky crane pictured below!

LEGO Mars Curiosity Rover Descent Stage and Sky Crane

LEGO Mars Curiosity Rover Descent Stage and Sky Crane

KnuthLab LEGO Exploration Rover

Image of KnuthLab Exploration Rover

KnuthLab Exploration Rover with Researchers A. Fischer and N. Malakar

The Knuth Cyberphysics Laboratory in the University at Albany Physics Department has developed the KnuthLab LEGO Exploration Rover, which acts as a testbed for robotic intelligence and navigation software. Development of this rover was funded by a NASA SBIR Award (Advanced Bayesian Methods for Lunar Surface Navigation) through Autonomous Exploration Inc. as well as a University at Albany Faculty Research Award (Developing Robotic Explorers, PI: K.H. Knuth).

The LEGO Exploration Rover is powered by six NXT Standard Motors in a Rocker-Bogie suspension system used in all of the NASA Mars rover designs. The rover is approximately 1.5 ft high with a 1 ft x 1.5 ft base. It is larger than the NASA Sojourner Rover, which was part of the Pathfinder Mission to Mars in 1997, and smaller than the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity. It can safely carry a payload of 8 pounds.

Image of KnuthLab LEGO Exploration Rover

KnuthLab LEGO Exploration Rover


The LEGO Exploration Rover has two laptop bays built into the box-like frame in which it can carry two Asus Eee Laptops for onboard processing. The wheels are controlled by two LEGO NXT bricks, which can communicate with the laptops via Bluetooth. The rocker-bogie suspension and low speed allows it to handle relatively rugged terrain and steep grades.

The white frame mounted on top of the rover is the Bayesian Vision-Based Navigation System being developed by Autonomous Exploration Inc. for NASA.

Check back, as we will be posting videos of its operation and discussing some of the important design features.

Knuth: Developing Robotic Scientists for Space Exploration

The University at Albany (SUNY) has highlighted Knuth’s research in a recent news piece.

UAlbany Professor Kevin Knuth with a robot built from LEGOs. (Photo Mark Schmidt)
UAlbany Professor Kevin Knuth with a robot built from LEGOs. (Photo Mark Schmidt)

Kevin Knuth has a laboratory in the physics department of the University at Albany that is filled with LEGOs. The bricks are relatively cheap and can be used to rapidly prototype a robot’s body. Knuth’s robots are being programmed to solve such problems as mapping complex terrain.

At UAlbany Day on Saturday, Oct. 25, he will give a demonstration on Robotics and Robotic Exploration in Life Sciences Room 143 at 10:45 a.m.

More here:
http://www.albany.edu/news/update_4522.shtml

Building instructions for the robot shown in the UAlbany article can be found on Brickengineer.com

Visit Autonomous Exploration News for information on Knuth’s company Autonomous Exploration Inc.

Visit Robots Everywhere for a general blog on robotics news.

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