We’ve been so busy with build sessions and meticulous planning for our projects that we’ve hardly got time to update our website. Here’s a roundup of what we’ve been doing recently:

Test fitting Prospect Twelve’s new roof rack. Photo by Derrick Yu

Prospect Twelve‘s hardware team have finished cutting and assembling 80/20 extruded aluminum pieces for the vehicle’s new roof rack. The redesign allows for much more efficient assembly and more flexible sensor mounting options.

The 2010 IGVC team has officially named PAVE‘s entry in the 2010 Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition. Phobetor continues the tradition of naming our IGVC ‘bots after Greek deities. The team has also been working hard to machine parts for the vehicle’s drivetrain.

More pictures and details after the break

The main section of Prospect Twelve‘s roof rack finished and mounted to the vehicle. Photo by Derrick Yu

This custom roof rack is our 3rd generation roof rack. The first was made of wood, and the second one was an amalgam of extruded aluminum and pipe that was a nightmare to install and was never quite finished properly. This version takes no more than 10 minutes to bolt on. It’s not clear in this picture, but the structure the roof rack is bolted to is actually curved, so the center supports are a bit shorter so that the whole thing is flat (and as close to parallel to the ground as possible).

Motors and motor controllers for Phobetor. Photo by Derrick Yu

Partly machined aluminum hubs and sprockets for Phobetor‘s drivetrain. Photo by Derrick Yu

For the robot drivetrain, we’re using standard 6″ trailer wheels with snowblower tires fitted to them. However, we need to machine our own aluminum hubs to secure the wheels to the driveshafts. In addition, we need to drill several holes in each sprocket to mount them to the motors and the wheels.