Cool New Robot

I LOVE robots. I love making them, programming them, playing with them (hey, that sounded dirty). I can't get enough. Trossen Robotics is announcing a new project to create an autonomous mapping robot, called T.R.A.M.P. (Trossen Robotics Autonomous Mapping Platform).

The members of the Trossen Robotics Community are at it once again, this time collaborating on a robotics project best described as “a Mars Rover, but for Earth”. This is quite an aggressive project, only made possible by the fact that the development team consists of a range of specialists working together.

The basis behind the project is to create a robot that will be shipped to various members of the Community to explore and log different areas around their house and outdoors. Once it has arrived and is set loose in its new environment it will scan the surroundings using an array of sensors and upload the results to the official Tramp website. Features include:

• The ability to track and log its travel around the world via GPS, displayed via Google Maps.
• Scan its surroundings using cameras, range sensors, and LIDAR.
• Use sensory data to create a 2D and 3D render of the area around it.
• Sample and log the environmental air quality.
• An onboard PC for the main controller.
• Pictures, video, and statistics will be uploaded to the site.