leoRover - Leo Rover Developer Kit v.1.8

Delve deep inside the Leo Rover robot

Leo Rover is a ROS-based open-source mobile robotic platform based on the Raspberry Pi 3 that can handle loads of up to 5 kg. In practice, this means you’re free to customize it with all the accessories you can imagine, including grippers or robotic arms, a camera, sensors, IMUs, etc.

The Leo Rover Developer Kit is an opportunity for teachers to offer students a robot in kit form that includes every part needed to assemble using only simple tools.

The kit allows you to rapidly assemble the platform, while providing in-depth information on how the robot operates.

All you need is a few Allen keys and hex-head flat wrenches, a bench vice and a soldering iron.

Leo Rover Developer Kit: develop and improve your robot

This is an open-source mobile 4-wheel drive robot in kit form for which you can develop countless add-ons. Anything ranging from 3D printed robotics parts to new robotics apps. There is also a huge community of inventors you can count on to improve your project.

The Leo Rover Developer kit will therefore adapt to any educational project, involving for example remote control, intelligent navigation, monitoring and exploration, mobile weather stations, etc.

Technical Specifications

Size

Weight: 6,5 kg

Dimensions: 447x433x249 mm

Payload capacity: ca. 5 kg

Upper platform mounting dimensions

Dimensions: 299 x 183 mm

Hole grid: 18 x 15 mm

Holes: 40 x Φ 7mm + 22 x Φ 5,5mm

Performance

Estimated maximum obstacle size: 70 mm

Protection rating: complies with IP66 (not certified)

‍Run time: Estimated 4 hrs of nominal driving

Connection range: Up to 100m (with live video stream)

Wheels

Motors: 4 x in-hub DC motor with 73.2:1 planetary gearbox and 12 CPR encoder

Wheel diameter: 130 mm

Tire material: rubber with foam insert (non-pneumatic)

Battery

Voltage: 11.1 V DC

Capacity: 5000 mAh

Type: Li-Ion with internal PCM

Short-circuit, overcurrent and overdrain safety features

Max. current: 8A (total for the whole Rover)

Speed

Max. linear speed: ca. 0.4 m/s

Max. angular speed: ca. 60 deg/s

Camera and network

Camera

Camera resolution: 5 MPx

Lens: Fisheye with 170 deg field of view (IR non-filtered; night-vision allowed)

Network

WiFi 2.4 GHz access point with external antenna

WiFi 2.4 GHZ + 5 GHz on internal RPi antennas for connectivity

Software

Operating system: Ubuntu 20.04 + Robot Operating System

Ready-to-go UI located under '10.0.0.1' when using standard Leo Software Image.

Open source firmware

Electronics

RaspberryPi 4B 2GB (or higher) as the main computer

LeoCore as real-time microcontroller: STM32F4 (@84MHz, 64KB RAM, 256KB Flash)

Connection interfaces

Externally available

1x waterproof microUSB socket

1x antenna RP-SMA male socket

1x 3-pin Weipu SP13 12V power socket

Internal open interfaces

RaspberryPi's: 2x USB, 20x GPIO, RJ45 Ethernet, 1x RPi display port, Bluetooth 5.0 with BLE

Controller

You need any web-enabled device to access stock UI under '10.0.0.1' in your browser.

Device requirements: Windows/Linux/Android/macOS

For easier development ROS on your device is highly recommended.

FAQ

How long does it take to assemble the Rover?

It should take you about 8 hours.

Do I need to buy anything other than Dev Kit to build the Rover?

No, the Kit is designed to include every component needed. The only things you need extra are tools.

What tools and knowledge do I need to assemble the Rover?

Basic workshop tools like soldering iron, metric hex-head, Philips-head and torx screwdrivers and flat wrenches. In case of knowledge, just basic skills and a lot of patience.

Can I write my own software to the Rover?

Yes, of course. The Rover is developer-ready. You can learn more on docs.leorover.tech or on Github. The software is open-source and written the way it's easy to navigate. On top of that our team can provide you support in case something is not clear.

Is the Rover autonomous?

By default Leo Rover is remotely controlled with video streaming and UI ready-to-go. It's not autonomous, but it's autonomy-ready. The software is based on Robot Operating System (ROS) which is known for easiness of autonomy and semi-autonomy features implementation. The simplest way is to add a lidar or streovision camera to enhance the Rover self-navigation and then build your features on top of that. The Rover itself has one front camera and 4 wheel encoders onboard, so it provides video streaming and basic odometry out-of-the-box.

Documentation

Docs: Leo Rover Knowledge Base

Still a work in progress, but it will be much more clear and understandable base of tutorials, assembly manuals and documentation than the original docs.

(older): leorover.gitbook.io/leorover/

It's the main source of tutorials, technical documentation and project. You can find assembly instructions there.

github: LeoRover

If you want to dig deeper in the Rover software, the best way is to check Github repositories readme. Full of information specific to the package.

github: fictionlab

There is as well another, company-wide repository which may be useful for software not directly related to Leo Rover. Sure worth checking once a while as we tend to build more and more tools over time.

ROS wiki: Leo Rover

More about ROS packages that we developed for Leo Rover software.

Maximum Translational Velocity	0.4 m/s
Maximum Rotational Velocity	60 deg/s
Maximum Payload	5 kg
Operating Time	4 hrs of nominal driving
Dimensions	447x433x249 mm
Weight	6,5 kg
SBC	RaspberryPi 4B 2GB
CPU	Broadcom BCM2711, Quad core Cortex-A72 (ARM v8) 64-bit SoC @ 1.5GHz
GPU	Broadcom VideoCore VI
MCU	LeoCore as real-time microcontroller: STM32F4 (@84MHz, 64KB RAM, 256KB Flash)
Camera	Camera resolution: 5 MPx \| Lens: Fisheye with 170 deg field of view (IR non-filtered; night-vision allowed)
Motors	4 x in-hub DC motor with 73.2:1 planetary gearbox and 12 CPR encoder
Encoders	12 CPR encoder
Battery	11.1V DC 5000mAh Li-ion
Wheels	Wheel diameter: 130 mm \| Tire material: rubber with foam insert (non-pneumatic)
Connectivity	WIFI \| microUSB \| RP-SMA Male \|
Open Source ROS (compatibility)	ROS1 / ROS2
System	Ubuntu 20.04

leoRover - Leo Rover Developer Kit v.1.8

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