ERA-MOBI

Kurt Konolige, the inventor of the highly successful Pioneer line of robots, has designed a next-generation robot platform for educational and research robotics.

The ERRATIC platform (from the Latin errare: to wander) is compact, powerful, and capable of carrying a full load of robotics equipment, including an integrated PC, laser rangefinder, pan tilt unit, and stereo camera.

We have designed the ERRATIC robot platform to be both simple, reasonably priced, and highly expandable.  The ERRATIC platform was created with the experience of many years of teaching an advanced robotics course at Stanford University, as well as participation in DARPA mobile robot projects such as Centibots and LAGR (Learning And Ground Robots).

Check out this map made with the ERA-MOBI robot platform using the Hokuyo URG sensor!

ERA-MOBI Features

What distinguishes the ERA-MOBI from other mobile robots in this class?  Our design philosophy has focused on the following components:

• Industrial-strength motors and aluminum alloy base, precision motion encoders
• Large, flat top plate for mounting sensors and peripherals
• Integrated controller and motor driver for precise high-speed control of the drive system
• On-board low-power PC with integrated wireless networking
• Accepts standard PC peripherals: cameras, speakers, etc.
• Open-source networked robot software system: Player/Stage
• Custom, open-source drivers for ERA-MOBI hardware and peripherals
• Efficient sensor suite (optional):
   - Laser rangefinder
   - Stereo camera
   - Sonar ring
   - IR floor sensors

Because of efficiencies in design and advances in use off-the-shelf components, we are able to offer these robots at very attractive prices, in keeping with our vision for robot platforms: compact, inexpensive, powerful.  Compared to the Pioneer 3 DX from ActivMedia/MobileRobots, the ERA-MOBI platform costs 1/3 the price or less for better features - see the feature comparison here.  You can afford an ERA-MOBI + laser rangefinder + stereo camera for less than you would pay for a P3DX without the laser or stereo!

High-level control software for the ERA-MOBI is provided by the open-source Player/Stage system, supported by a large user base.  There are custom, open-source drivers for ERRATIC hardware and peripherals.  ERA-MOBI offers a true out-of-the-box experience.

ERA-MOBI Kit Contents

• Robot base
• 12v batteries with attached plugs (3)
• Battery charger
• Compact PC
• Cables (USB and computer power
• Laser rangefinder (if ordered)
• Pan/tilt unit (if ordered)
• Sonar ring (if ordered)
• STOC camera (if ordered)
• Camera bracket (if ordered)

ERA-MOBI Requirements

None

Base Platform	40cm (L) x 41cm (W) x 15 cm (H) Lightweight, strong aluminum alloy
Wheels	12.5 cm diameter (driven) 6.25 cm diameter (caster) Polymer core, soft non-marking rubber tread
Drive Type	Differential, single rear caster
Maximum Speed	2.0 m/sec
Motors	DC reversible with gearhead 72 W continuous power
Encoder	Precision optical encoder 500 counts per motor revolution
Controller	16 bit microcontroller Integrated controller / motor driver
Sensors	Sharp GP2D15 IR distance sensors (2x)
Power	12V, 7AH lead-acid batteries (x3) 5V, 12V, 19V power bus for peripherals 5A charger
Endurance	> 10 hours, PC only 4-5 hours with nominal movement
Weight	4.5 Kg (9 lbs 15 oz) (base) 12 Kg (26 lbs 7 oz) (base, batteries) 12.9 Kg (28 lbs 7 oz) (base, batteries, computer, sonar) 13.9 Kg (30 lbs 7 oz) (base, batteries, computer, sonar, Hokuyo LRF, pan/tilt, STOC)
Payload	20 Kg (44 lbs 1 oz)
Onboard PC	1.6 GHz Celeron M 40 GB  hard drive, 512 MB memory FireWire, USB, wireless (802.11 b/g) and wired ethernet Linux OS, Player/Stage installed

• Erratic ERA Rev E User Manual (November 2006)


• Downloads
  • Player/Stage v2.0.3 Source with Erratic Rev E patches
  • Erratic Simulator Configuration files, Rev E
  • Erratic Standalone Test Program, Rev E
  • Erratic controller firmware, Rev E.1


• Feature Comparison to ActivMedia/MobileRobots P3DX

ERA-MOBI Accessories

• ERA-LRF-HOK: Hokuyo URG laser rangefinder
• ERA-LRF-SICK: SICK LMS200 laser rangefinder
• ERA-PAN-TILT: Pan/tilt units
• ERA-TILT: Tilt unit
• ERA-SONAR: Sonar ring
• STOC: Videre Design Stereo-on-a-chip Camera
• ERA-CAM-BRKT: Camera bracket to secure camera to robot platform

ERA-MOBI Upgrades for onboard PC

• ERA-PR-CD2DUO: Core 2 Duo upgrade
• ERA-MEM-1GB: RAM upgrade to 1 GB
• ERA-HD-80GB: Hard drive upgrade to 80 GB
• ERA-HD-100GB: Hard drive upgrade to 100 GB