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Originally Posted by Don Rotolo
You know, that makes me wonder: What does everyone think is the weakest link (system) in the rovers, the one that is expected to fail first and effectively disable the robot? This would be a system that just couldn't be made more robust, (almost) regardless of cost.
I think it would be the batteries. At a certain point, there's little one can do to increase their lifespan.
I would be quite surprised if they didn't know the answer already - maybe Dave can chime in after we have a few guesses...
Don
[EDIT]: The point being, of course, for FIRST students to learn something from the exercise and do a rough & dirty MTTF evaluation of next year's underwater robot...[/EDIT]
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I'm going to take a
highly unqualified guess and say that the drivetrain will be what disables the robot. Spirit's already down a wheel, and what I've read on the NASA site seems to indicate that losing it is a significant setback. (I'm picturing a FIRST robot throwing a chain, but on a grander, no-pit-areas-or-time-outs-for-you scale.)
Granted, you can still get good science from a crippled or stationary robot (as Spirit is demonstrating now while it winters over), but it certainly would put the brakes on searching for any other points of interest.