Further articles
We did it! ERC 2023 is over.
After a stressed and long weekend in Kielce the ERC 2023 ended. During the Final Ceremony the winner of the ERC and the Best Team Award of every Task got announced. As the Final Ceremony started, the tension rose. Did we put enough effort into the project? Or could we…
Finally, the World Finals have started
After our long study break, where we had enough time to finalize our Rover, we arrived in Kielce, Poland, for the World Finals of the European Rover Challenge 2023. After a long drive, we unloaded the vehicles and tested our Rover on the Mars Yard. During the ERC, we have…
Chassis evolution: Harmonizing form and function
For a project this big, you need a solid foundation to begin with. This foundation was created with our improved chassis. Our goals for the chassis included the expansion in the front for more space for the electrical components, a flexible way to position and fixate them and compatibility with…
Quest for the Perfect Topology
So, what is topology optimization? It’s basically some engineering magic that turns boring, oversized designs into an exciting looking, lightweight nightmare for machinists. In more serious terms, topology optimization is a mathematical method which optimizes the structure of a given object by removing as much material as possible while retaining…
Drone: Experiencing the Next Dimension
Our Drone in real-lifeOur newest addition to the rover is our drone. The main goal of the drone is to take pictures from places the rover can’t get to, such as the top of a volcano or similar places. Furthermore, it must fly completely autonomous, which includes starting and landing…
The evolution of the DriveTrain
One of the main problems with the Drivetrain of Rover Meyer was the protection against water and dirt. Completely sealing a rotating part can be difficult. The goal was to design the motor and bearing area to be protected against water intrusion. Water can also introduce dirt into the system…
How have the software engineers settled into the project?
Our Computer Science studentsSince the start of the spring semester of 2023, the rover team got six new team members. They are not electrical or mechanical engineering students but computer science students. Unlike the existing team members, they are also part-time students. So they work at least 50% of their…
ERC feeling in Switzerland
Our Rover Thommen during the Hero ChallengeAfter 2 Months of intensive planning, our FHNW Rover-Träff finally took place at our Campus in Windisch. The purpose of the competition was to test the weak spots of our Rover Thommen in a competition-like environment. FroST and ERIG, the Rover Teams from the…
Overcoming Technical Hurdles in Developing an Improved Robotic Arm
It has been over a month since the FHNW Rover team received new servos for our improved robotic arm. While we were initially excited to get started, we soon discovered that there were technical hurdles to overcome before we could achieve our first lift.We were using the same open-source software…