A Miniature Mars Rover

In a rather amazing feat, humanity has been able to send multiple robotic rovers to the surface of Mars, performing experiments and sending back data. As shown in the video below, Nikodem Bartnik made a model of this robot for earth (kitchen) exploration at a fraction of the monetary and time cost of the original, using a Raspberry Pi Pico W.

The project started way back in June 2022, with the release of the Pico W, inspiring Bartnik to build a robot with it. His first idea was to create something with mecanum wheels on an inexpensive chassis. However, after attending a summer cubesat program at the European Space Agency, all of a sudden this omni-robot seemed a bit boring. He decided to instead make his bot into a Mars rover model.

From there, the build would take several more twists and turns. He modeled the robot in Fusion 360, but it still needed a few changes upon assembly. First, the 3D-printed arm was reduced in size so it could be driven by its small servos. While the base was cut out on his CNC router, the top was initially cut out by hand as the machine was having some problems at that point. It was then cut on his laser, as Bartnik realized a thinner piece of material would work.

The robot is controlled by a custom designed PCB, which Bartnik manufactured on a smaller CNC. This technique is fantastic for time-savings, but the lack of a solder mask made the assembly a bit trickier. An FPV camera rounds things out, allowing him to drive it around his kitchen, manipulate a LEGO satellite dish, and annoy a (space) cat.