Bangalore, September 8 2014: If your phone is powered by a snapdragon processor, you already have the heart of a robotic rover with you. Qualcomm, makers of the processor have just released complete instructions to build your own robotic vehicle on a 3-D printer -- then powering it with your mobile phone.
Who knows... your Snapdragon MicroRover as it is called may be the first step to a career in Robotics !
Qualcomm Research had a vision that smartphones could shape the future of robotics. The goal was to try and harness the computing power and capabilities of a smartphone and apply that to interesting applications in robotics. After spending many hours in the lab and testing an array of prototypes, the Qualcomm Snapdragon Micro Rover was born. It was a simple design that garnered lots of power and intelligence. The Micro Rover is powered by a smartphone with a Snapdragon processor, is easily printed on a 3D printer and has a forklift that allows the robot to manipulate its world. They also leveraged the advanced compute functionality built into Snapdragon powered smartphones and added autonomous control to enable the Micro Rover to follow targets and be more than just a robot.
The Micro Rover is a good platform for students to create their own DIY or education project. They can modify the designs and software to create their own unique version of the Micro Rover.
Qualcomm has provided the 3D-printable design for free so that developers, educators, DIYers and anyone interested in robotics can download and customize their own smartphone-powered robot.
Checkout https://www.qualcomm.com/invention/research/projects/robotics/micro-rover for more details on how the Micro Rover works, how to download the designs and how to develop applications for the robot