Apr 15, 2016 | By Andre
Modular technology has been peeking its head through into the tech world more than ever in recent years. The premise is that you no longer need to buy one device with a single focus but instead can have one with the ability to expand and swap around its core to allow for an ever evoloving set of functions and controls.
A popular example of modular thinking can be found in Google’s Project Ara modular smartphone technology (which for a time had 3D printed elements in play). Need a new camera on your old phone? No problem, just swap the camera upgrade module in and you’re good. Need more processing power? Buy an upgrade, snap it on and voila, fast again.
It seems that the group of robotics enthusiasts over at Rocketship Systems (fresh off of a successful Kicksterter campaign) have gone ahead and brought a modular ecosystem to the RC space with the BoxBotix “3-in-1” copter, plane & rover platform.
As is described in detail on the team’s wevolver page, their vision was to provide the tools necessary for just about anyone to be able to make what they call the BoxBotix system.
Company CEO Coby Leuschke describes the inspiration behind the platform by saying that “our vision is to form a global network of artisans who specialize in the design, manufacture and support of open source robots at the local level. We get a lot of emails and phone calls from people trying to fly sensors but lack the robots to put them on. So we decided to see if we could design something that was easy to hack, make, use and sustain.”
For him and the BoxBotix team, it’s not about his company building a million robots, but instead about building a community of a million people that want to design and build their own robots. And considering the project is open-source, the 3D print files, system schematics and material listings are freely accessible, there’s no reason to think their plan won’t materialize.
With the central brainbox at its core, the 3D printed casing and over-the-counter electronics found within drive whichever of the three devices you decide on at any given point. With the core in place, you can 3D print some wings to make a plane, wheels for a rover or propellers (and just about everything else) for the copter. It really is mix-and-match as you please with this all-conditions system.
If you want to get started on your own, the team welcomes you to take a look at their assembly guide and see if you’re up for the task. While its not a walk-in-the park, it looks like an intermediate level maker should be able to complete the task.
While the over all ambitions of creating a thriving BBots community focused on sharing new designs and piloting tips are still in the making, the thought of having an all-in-one compartmental RC platform is a good one. If they develop and expand within the open-source community as they plan to do, its really the skies the limit in terms of what creative expansions get modded into the BoxBotix. Who knows, maybe by this time next year it will be a 500-in-1 device with more components coming. I mean, they did monster truck up their original rover design as a recent video showcases below.
Posted in 3D Printing Application
Maybe you also like:
- Toyota uBox, the car designed for Generation Z, features 3D printed dashboard
- Fully customizable 3D printed Deadpool Knife Block impresses on Instructables
- Google awards $20 million to 3D printing and tech solutions for people with disabilities
- Google awards $20 million to 3D printing and tech solutions for people with disabilities
- German company shapeWerk 3D prints amazing custom terrain maps
- FrieslandCampina and Wageningen University 3D print protein-rich, dairy-based foods
- Does the 3D printed 'NextGen spaceframe' represent the future of automobile design?
- 3D printed knee model to evaluate patellar disorders and surgical approaches
- Osiris BioMed 3D developing a 'Mobile 3D Print Container' to be deployed in natural disaster zones
Andre, Thanks for the great article! Just a small correction - The wings on the BBPlane and the wheels on the BBRover are EPP foam. We CNC foam cores in house, but building a small hotwire at home is not out of the question. It's how we started. And we agree with your assessment about intermediate skills being required. It's not hard to build but it's easy to screw up. It reminds me of finish carpentry - needs a little extra attention to detail if you want something that looks and performs well. There also needs to be some willingness by the builder to dig in and learn about power systems. There is a lot of flexibility in how these can be built, which makes it very hard for us to test every possible configuration. We look forward to seeing what people do with the designs. Regards, Coby
3Ders.org provides the latest news about 3D printing technology and 3D printers. We are now seven years old and have around 1.5 million unique visitors per month.
