Cool Robots Thayer School CRREL Mission Science Papers and Publications Pictures Team and Acknowledgements
banner
Pictures
greenland     Greenland
In order to test the robot as a whole in a somewhat more accessible location than Antarctica, and because Antarctica is a cold and dark place during the boreal summer months, we took the robot to Greenland for 2-3 weeks. We worked at Summit Station, roughly in the geographic center of the island - a long way from anything.
testing     Testing
Before, during, and after construction, there was always testing. Some testing we did on a small scale to, for instance, determine mechanical properties. Other testing was to gauge performance (like the solar test panels). Still other testing was just for the hell of it - to see if it all worked once put together. Check out the movie clips!
assembly     Assembly
Once we had finalized our design, manufactured or bought what parts we needed, and taken one or two practice swings on some fabrication methods, it was time to actually build the robot. At this point, the construction and assembly of the robot is complete.
manufacture     Manufacture
There were many parts, particularly in the drivetrain assemblies that we needed to manufacture ourselves. Some of these parts (such as the wheels) were custom made in order to save on weight, others we made because no off-the-shelf equivalent was available (such as the cradles and brackets used to mount the drivetrain components).
design     Design
Some images and screen captures from our mechanical design process. The entire robot was designed, "assembled," redesigned, and reassembled many times in Pro/Engineer and mechanically tested in Pro/Mechanica (from Parametric Technologies Corporation) long before we started manufacturing parts.
[Main] | [Mission] | [Science] | [Papers] | [Pictures] | [Team]

Site © Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H.