NXT
Photo Journal
Prior to starting the main Mars project (our Crater Fighting Bot), we build a Mars Rover that could be controlled from Mars and, with a delayed program, Earth. These were our initial sketches.
After deciding on a design winner, we began the build and programming of our bot. This is the general shape we wanted. From here we obviously went into greater levels of depth, but it gave us the form that we would work off of.
Our Crater Fighting Bot from the point of view of the attacked.
An underbelly-shot view of the bot to check out its build.
Click on the doc to your left to check out our bomb disarming bot. The first picture is a side view (with a creator as a background) that allows us to see the emphasis of our bot. The second picture is the rear view shot to show the wiring and an electronic aspect to our bot.
Public Product
Robotics Analysis
I believe that our Crater Fighting Bot can be considered a robot for the following reasons that were not as evident in the original bots. Our Crater Fighting Bot was autonomous, independent and didn't need a human. It sensed its surroundings and made decisions based on them, giving it options and various situations. This means that its movements were no longer by chance, like our scribble-bot, but rather in response to an environment. The same argument goes for the Bomb Disarming Bot. This bot navigated around obstacles until it found its target and responded with an attack. Are we starting what happened in I, Robot? Maybe. Is this technology super capable of helping us in multitudes of ways? Definitely.