LEGO NXT Rocker-Bogie Suspension Demo II

This video demonstrates the rocker-bogie suspension (used by the Mars rovers) on a LEGO NXT rover climbing a stack of books. This prototype was developed by Knuthlab Robotics at the University at Albany, and is a beefed-up version of the one presented by Brian Bagnall in his book Maximum LEGO NXT. Watch the rockers move the wheels to keep them in contact with the ground.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• LEGO
• NXT
• rover
• robot
• robotics
• rocker-bogie
• exploration
• mars

[Chao5bringer]

What's with the rear wheel? Shouldn't you add shock absorbers or something, Everytime the rear wheel goes down the whole thing jolts. Don't get me wrong it's an awesome design, beyond what I'm capable of.

[drknuth]

This is based heavily on the design of Brian Bagnall in his book Maximum LEGO NXT. There are issues with the rear wheels. My modifications focused on the front drive. But we are currently building a LEGO rover that is about 2 feet long. We will hopefully fix the issue you describe as well as many others.

[evilmunchkin366731]

Could you try adding treads/tracks in place of the wheels?

[drknuth]

It wouldn't add much. The Rocker-Bogie suspension is designed to enable each of the six wheels to be at different heights enabling the robot to traverse extremely rough terrain while keeping the body relatively level. Treads would only constrain the wheels and interfere with the independent motion.

[drknuth]

I do not have the LegoDraw CAD instructions. It is basically the design of Brian Bagnall in his book Maximum LEGO NXT with the axles replaced by gears (since the axles stored up too much energy in torsion and oscillated).

[drknuth]

Thanks for your kind comments. We noted that changing the gears the way you suggest will make the robot go faster, but with much less force. You are right... those batteries run pretty hard though!

[180sk8180]

thats pretty cool!

[legoprinter2000]

5* awesome

[verrybrainie]

geweldig ik gan terug mijn oude lego uit de doos halen en er wat moderne snufjes bijkopen denk ik.

[14080yo]

awesome job 5 *s!

[serge933]

This is great! Just need that independant suspension and your good to go lol.

[minirobotics]

nice job, anyone with an NXT knows how hard it is to create a robot like this