Remember TARS from Interstellar? If not, TARS, one of four former US Marine Corps tactical robots, joined the Endurance crew on their journey through the cosmos. Inventor Charlie Diaz managed to create a miniature version of TARS using a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ board, along with several 3D-printed components.
The 3D-printed components are used to mount its legs onto the main body, both of which are driven by an Adafruit 16-channel PWM servo driver connected to four SG90 micro servo motors as well as five metal gear servos. To show what is running on Raspberry Pi OS, there is a 5-inch Elecrow HDMI display mounted on the front, while a Bluetooth remote can be used to control TARS. More information here.
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During testing, TARS’ steps were heavy and violent, caused chiefly by the excess weight the NiMH batteries added, but was also affected by poor weight distribution (all heavy components were located in the torso) and an underdeveloped walking program,” said Diaz.
