What do you get when you combine a hacked Sensetta rover platform, a Bluetooth-controlled Arduino “breakout” board and a custom scripted Google Android app?
Well, one sweet, tricked-out droid controlled by a Nexus One smartphone, of course!
As “Motorbikematt” of NASA’s Ames Research Center explains, the use of the Android-Arduino combination reduces weigh and energy consumption, while improving maneuverability by removing the Max Kernel computer and router.
The total price for this hacked masterpiece?
Try $600 in parts, ten days of late-night time work in the N226 NASA Open Lab and a Nexus One smartphone.
Oh, and hey, let’s all give props to the project volunteers and participants, including: Andy Boyett, Andy Lee, David Lehrberg, Paul Mans, NASA Contractor Geoff Chu, the Droidcopter/AndroidSat teams and Google’s “Über-Dogfooder” Ryan Hickman.
