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| Placement | Team/University | Arm Type | DoF | Joint Drives / Notes on Joints | Construction | End Effector | Vision |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IMPULS/Kielce | Articulated | 6 | -Strain Wave (doesn't specify if custom or stock) (SHEEEESH) | -Looks like mainly a mix of box and round tube aluminum for shoulder/bicep -Multiple plastic parts on wrist/end effector | -Two aluminum fingers -Same fingers used for all missions -Claw rotation is driven by single motor (not differential) -No allen key attachment (grabbing screwdriver instead) | -One Wrist cam -One claw facing cam |
| 2 | Ryerson Rams | Cylindrical | 6 | -Linear axis used on forearm (its like a piston forearm, hard to tell what drive they used for this but its probably regular gearing) -Regular spur gear drives used on wrist/claw -Belt drives used on shoulder | -Carbon fiber tubing is used on the z axis articulating shoulder -The rest of the arm (forearm, claw) seems to be a mix of round and square aluminum tubing, with minimal or no 3D printed parts noticed | -Four finger aluminum(?) gripper on claw used for all missions -Claw rotation is driven by single motor (not differential) | -Couldn't tell from SAR video |
| 3 | Stanford Student Robotics | Scara | 6 | -Belt drives on larger arm joints Regular gearing on claw (i think, can't tell but it looks just like regular spur gearing) | -Pretty much exclusively aluminum box tube -Shit ton of 3D printed parts for all the belt drives | -Lead screw is used to make claw non backdriveable for better gripping (or so they claim) -Claw housing looks like its assembled from laser cut fiberboard, and actual two finger grippers are 3D printed -Finger grippers are swappable and have different designs for each mission (science, equipment, delivery) -they have a pencil attachment to operate the keyboard, but it doesn't look like they have an allen key attachment -single motor drives claw rotation (not differential) | -Couldn't tell from SAR video |
| 4 | PCz Rover Team / Czestochowa | Articulated | 5 | -Chain drive for shoulder joint -Regular spur gears used to drive wrist | -Looks like pretty much exclusively made from aluminum box tube with a bunch of welded flanges -Carbon fiber tubing used on other parts of their rover, but doesn't look like its on arm | -Technically two fingers constructed from aluminum as grippers, but there is a cut in the middle of the gripper allowing for four points of contact with items they grab -Different grippers used to collect soil samples (also made from aluminum) -Single motor drives rotation of claw (not differential) | -Gimbal system mounted high above wrist |
| 5 | Missouri | Articulated | 6 | -Looks like they used belt drives everywhere except for wrists -Not too sure what to call thier turntable. It looks like 3/4 of a differential joint, with one bevel gear on the bottom and two on the left/right but non on the top | -Key structural components made from carbon fiber, and mated parts constructed from aluminum | -They used a differential wrist with custom 3D printed gears -Two 3D printed gripping fingers -One interesting thing is that they use what looks like a sharpie end fired like a piston to interact with the keyboard -Entire end effector is double sided (one side for grippers, another side for this big end effector tool with different tool attachments) | -Couldn't tell from video |
| 6 | Cornell Mars Rover | Articulated | 6? maybe 5.. idk if arm base rotates from vid | -Belt driven arm base. I'm guessing they use belt drivers on other parts of the arm too, but its hard to tell -Worm gears used everywhere on wrist | -Aluminum sheets for the shoulder joint -Looks like maybe fibgerglass(? or painted wood lol) U-Channel to serve as forearm | -Two 3D printed grippers -Continuous rotation achieved through worm gear (not differential) -There are custom screwdrivers mounted to the frame of the chassis (like in a pocket) that the arm picks up to use for missions -They might be using springs to reduce backlash? | -Wrist Cam |
| 7 | Michigan Mars Rover Team | Articualted | 7! | -I can't really tell what drives they use (they don't say). I think it may be cycloid, as thats what they use in 2021 an the housing on stepper motors looks like it might house a cycloid drive? | -Carbon fiber box tube sections for all limbs, with machined aluminum at mated joints | -Lead screw driven two finger end effector -Also has the solenoid to interact with keyboard -Has slot for allen key attachment | -Wrist cam |
| 8 | Mars Rover Manipal | Articulated | 6 | -Arm is partially controlled by two linear actuators -No information in video or website on drives used for other joints sadly | -Constructed from carbon fiber tubing and aluminum parts for mating | -Two split aluminum grippers allowing for 4 points of contact with rubber grip pads -Differential wrist drives rotation using bevel gears | -There are multiple camera feeds for claw operations |
| 9 | Nova Rover / Monash | Articulated | 6 | -Belt drives and 24v linear actuators are used | -Constructed from aluminum sheets that have cutout trusses | -End effector has three 3D printed fingers that are spring loaded -Claw rotation is 360 degree and driven by single motor | -Can't tell from video |
| 10 | BYU MARS ROVER / Brigham Young | Artciulated | 6 | -Bevel gearbox on wrist -very few details on arm in their video | -Constructed mainly from carbon fiber tubing | -Two finger grippers made from aluminum with some resin formed honey comb pattern for extra grip? -Grippers driven by linear actuators -They have a pointy stick for the keyboard task | -Can't tell from video |
2019 Scores
2019 Key Takeaways
- Overall, Ryerson had the best score in both retrieval and equipment servicing missions. They are also the only team with a cylindrical arm, so that might be something to keep in mind
- Stanford and Michigan scored second/third in the equipment servicing task respectively. Maybe its worth looking into belt drives again? Also, both these teams employed a solenoid push pin to interact with the keyboard
- Carbon fiber tubing, and tubing in general is a VERY common material used to construct the arm. This could also facilitate cable routing!
- Two teams on this list with differential wrist scored very similarly in equipment servicing mission, with scores of 47 & 49.
- Cylindrical and Scara arms both performed surprisingly well, although articulated arms were by far the most common design
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