AMS

Qualcomm’s 3D Printed Micro Rover Controlled by Smartphones

ST Dentistry

Share this Article

In 1985, seven friends sat down together to talk about ways in which they could create quality communication systems. Since then, the company they formed has opened offices in more than 40 countries and continues to strive to creatively contribute to communications technology. One of those inventions is the Snapdragon processor that is in over 1,350 different models of smartphones and tablets and has found its way into cars, home entertainment systems, embedded computing, and wearable technology.

Qualcomm-micro-roverThe latest place that it has made its appearance is in the Snapdragon Micro Rover, an adorable little roving robot powered by a smartphone with a Snapdragon processor. The miniature vehicle can be modified by anyone as Qualcomm has made the 3D file for printing available for free download. This type of design crowdsourcing is becoming increasingly common as companies look to harness the passion and intelligence of a vast number of people to advance their ideas. It is, of course, also a lot cheaper than hiring all of the minds that will most likely contribute.

The back of the motorized unit has a forklift in case you need to move some very small cargo or possibly poke a sleeping cat. In addition, to using the Navigation Android App that lets you use a basic dual joystick technology to move the rover around, they have created the ‘Follow Target’ app that enables the diminutive buggy to follow a target. This autonomous control falls a bit short of the type of self-maintaining functionality that a fully autonomous robot might one day qualpossess, but frankly, that’s probably not what people are really looking for in the Micro Rover.

The wheeled creation uses an IOIO (pronounced: yo-yo) board produced by a company called Sparkfun. This technology allows the apps on the smartphone that is controlling the vehicle to connect to the peripherals through a control code written in the same manner as any Java app. The power to the vehicle itself is provided in a surprisingly low tech manner (I have to admit that I was hoping for something more Skynet), through five AA batteries.

With this creation, Qualcomm is taking the remote controlled car to a new level of cute. I can imagine a whole series of races, lifting, and obstacle events springing to life around the 3D printed rovers. It will be interesting to follow this project to see what other creative designs come about from this initial release.

Let’s hear your thoughts on this 3D printable smartphone controlled robot.  Have you printed one out?  Discuss in the Qualcomm 3D printed robot forum thread on 3DPB.com.

I guess, now we just sit back and hope it doesn’t become sentient…

rover-images-2

Share this Article


Recent News

3D Printing News Unpeeled: Glass and Multi Material SLA

Solidscape Releases Sub-$15,000 Wax 3D Printer: the Muse



Categories

3D Design

3D Printed Art

3D Printed Food

3D Printed Guns


You May Also Like

Dental 3D Market Grew to $4B in 2022

SmarTech Analysis, the leading 3D printing market research firm and the sibling firm of 3DPrint.com, has released the latest iteration of one of its flagship reports, 3D Printing in Dentistry...

UltiMaker CEO Weighs in on the Release of the Method XL 3D Printer

Today, UltiMaker announced the release of the Method XL 3D printer. The XL features a 100°C heated chamber and heated build plate optimized for ABS and carbon fiber (CF) -ABS....

3D Printing News Briefs, May 17, 2023: Stress-Resistant Alloy, 3D Printed Trophies, & More

In today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, we’re starting off with a little research, as materials scientists developed a 3D printing process that produces an extremely stress-resistant alloy. Moving on to...

3D Printing News Briefs, May 13, 2023: RAPID Roundup Part 2

For the second time this week, 3D Printing News Briefs is focused on news stories about RAPID + TCT! From new hires and 3D printer integrations to new 3D printers,...