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The Engineer who invented the Mars Rover Suspension in his garage [video]
I had the privilege of working with Don back at JPL at the time he invented the rocker bogey. (I wrote the software for the first prototype with a computer on board.) Not only was he brilliant, he was also a really nice guy. I didn't appreciate at the time how rare that combination of traits is among humans.

To my astonishment, it turns out Don doesn't have a Wikipedia page (though the rocker bogie suspension does).

He really deserves a page, in the engineering world this is as notable as it gets. The number of skills casually on display here. Just wow.
Thanks for pointing out the rocker-bogie Wikipedia page. There's a true dearth of info about them. Do you happen to know if there's any kinematic analyses of these suspensions available? I used to do stress analysis in the aerospace industry and I've been interested in that sort of analysis since the 1997 Sojourner rover.
  • lisper
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  • 46 minutes ago
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> Do you happen to know if there's any kinematic analyses of these suspensions available?

Sorry, I have no idea. I never actually worked on the mechanics, just the software.

I'm not sure what you mean by kinematic analysis, but the video mentions several analytical analyses of his suspension and how he came up with it. They did some computer simulations to optimize how it would deal with various obstacles. Really cool and clever.
  • mc32
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  • 1 hour ago
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That’s an awesome compliment and reflects well on this guy —very unlike that Rob guy who rides NASA’s coattails for everything it’s got.
  • rozab
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  • 5 hours ago
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This guy has incredible videos on hiking gear, examining common claims scientifically and rationally. He never gave any hints as to his professional background, so as not to taint his arguments with appeals to authority. It makes perfect sense that he grew up in this environment, doing engineering work for NASA as a kid!
This is really Youtube at its best.

Deep dive into a niche topic, expert led, compelling storytelling, and professional production.

Not sure how/if something this could have been created / shared 20+ years ago.

Most of my comments on hacker news are to point out something incorrect or mischaracterized. All I can come up with here is that this is a brilliant and heartfelt and entertaining documentary. Thanks to OP for posting.
Best not read the comments until you've watched at least the first four minutes of the video.
Seconded, and maybe worth expanding why: there’s a very heartening reveal within the first few minutes that would be spoiled by reading the comments (which, surprisingly for YouTube, are all very positive about it.)
  • rvnx
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Not surprised of such article.

It's not the first time something important is built in a garage:

for example, the Apollo 11 lander; a lot of people were thinking it was made from aluminum folio and cardboard in a garage, but actually it was kapton folio and professional-grade cardboard.

Apparently the first Mars Rover operated on only 5 watts of power. A common bathroom nightlight draws ~7 watts.
Is it true that a walking system only to operate its legs and limbs would still consume more power than a rocker bogie — with all the innovations in battery tech?

Ofc Yes.

On Mars would any other mobility system today achieve better performance for it's purportedly stated(neigh most ridiculous stated but to be fair difficult engineering) goals i.e. colonization? Also no.

I am surprised after watching this that there is so much of the Boston dynamic stuff man/dog walking out there, given that mobility is so well accomplished. Do you need — to invest — an anthropomorphized man to scale walls and be stable after getting kicked around?? I know one thing here on earth all large scale semi(think agro machines) and almost fully(delivery bots) autonomous look nothing like anthropomorphics or canines.

Maybe I have the dunning Kruger effect, because I am not a robotics engineer, but why is building an anthropomorphic _mobility_ platform so important to solve _pragmatic_ problems?

I’d say a lack of imagination.

Lose mobility for a few weeks or months, like breaking both legs (or just try wheelchair access) and see how much of even the paved first world is inaccessible.

Nevermind less refined places like well-maintained hiking trails.

And you can forget about actual trail-blazing.

Then appreciate just how flexible and robust animal and human mobility really is!

The usual reasoning is that 2 legged robots will be able to use the same affordances that two legges humans do.
Building a robot and building a robot to operate on Mars are eye-wateringly different challenges.
To answer my own last question I would also think probably not that important.
a bicycle is more efficient than walking, it's not hard to see why - moving a mass up and down is wasted energy

> why is building an anthropomorphic _mobility_ platform so important to solve _pragmatic_ problems

because something rolling along isn't as visually impressive as a complex system to walk, and these companies require hype

I worked with Lee Sword (also RIP) for a while; he was on the mechanical team for Sojourner. Interesting guy.
Cool!

I just popped in to add that NASA employee Charles White, a scientist involved with the Mars Rover project, also helped make a Burning Man Mars Rover Car (back before Playa Burning Man was completely and utterly torched twice over by Military Industrial Complex Vacationers and Billionaires) and you can hear an interview with him here on Charles White's yt channel: https://youtu.be/BKGROOedAgI ( Mars Rover Art Car interview with Ray Cirino and Charles White )

Charles White is a pretty good guy in my opinion, we play the same video game (EvE: Online) Where Charles White is a very, very well known community member who is known as "The Space Pope". He officiates weddings at our Iceland Fanfest gathering and also runs a Suicide Prevention Outreach group in EvE: Online, as well as teaching leadership skills.

Here's Charles White giving a presentation as an Official NASA employee about Space and our solar system at EvE Fanfest 2016: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Atm6Y_JYPEU

Heres a interview about EvE: Online with the Space Pope: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWuj7LfyN4U

anyhow sorry to hijack this about EvE: Online but we have lots of cool people like Scott Manley playing, too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huZlA0eg12U

Wow, this turned out to be an amazing documentary!
"There are no shortcuts to expertise".

What a fantastic post this.

As Marx put it: "there is no royal road to science, and only those who do not dread the fatiguing climb of its steep paths have a chance of gaining its luminous summits.