Spring 2017 Mini Pathfinder Bogie Degrees of Freedom
By: Johnathan Chan (Manufacturing-Chassis)
Intro
Since the Mini Pathfinder has to be able to climb up stairs as large as the wheels, we need to ensure that the bogie suspension has enough of an angle to pivot to overcome the stairs. Measuring the angle of the pivoting bogie will help us determine if it can do this.
Measurements
We were able to measure the degrees of freedom by laying the suspension flat on a piece of paper and making a mark of where it is when it is flat. Then we marked where it is completely up. After we used a protractor to measure the degrees of freedom which is 87 degrees.
Figure 1. Flat on the Ground
Figure 2. Suspension all the way up
Figure 3. Angle of which the suspension from flat on the ground to all the way up
Conclusion
With the suspension we created, the rover will be able to maneuver through obstacles the size of its wheels.