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Written by Rowan Horncastle
Before you ask, this isn"t an extra from Wall-E. It"s Audi"s really, really cute moon car, the Lunar Quattro. It"s a rover that Audi hopes will help Berlin-based engineering group Part-Time Scientists" win $30 million. The three 3D-printed titanium and high-strength aluminium vehicle was first shown at the beginning of the year, but since then it"s undergone heavy testing and had some revisions.It"s still powered by the sun a swivelling solar panel moves to catch sunlight to generate electricity and a lithium-ion battery powering four wheel-mounted hub motors. Because of testing, these wheels have been increased so it can scramble over the Moon"s, um, moon-y surface with more stability. Weight has been reduced from 38 to 30kg through new 3D-printing techniques.Fitted with Audi"s Quattro all-wheel-drive system, the cutesy castor wheels rotate 360 degrees to allow it to scamper and crab its way across the moon"s knobbly and rutted surface.With a face-bending top speed of 2.2 mph, Audi"s top techies have been working late nights to make sure the rover is as rugged and practical as possible. Two cameras in the head of the rover gather 3D images of the vehicle"s surroundings, while a third is used to study materials and produce high-resolution panoramic images that can be beamed down from space.We"re not sure if it"s capable of Snapchatting its adventures yet, but with all the boffins on board, that technology can"t be far off.
Date written: 1 Dec 2016
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 5964
Before you ask, this isn"t an extra from Wall-E. It"s Audi"s really, really cute moon car, the Lunar Quattro. It"s a rover that Audi hopes will help Berlin-based engineering group Part-Time Scientists" win $30 million. The three 3D-printed titanium and high-strength aluminium vehicle was first shown at the beginning of the year, but since then it"s undergone heavy testing and had some revisions.It"s still powered by the sun a swivelling solar panel moves to catch sunlight to generate electricity and a lithium-ion battery powering four wheel-mounted hub motors. Because of testing, these wheels have been increased so it can scramble over the Moon"s, um, moon-y surface with more stability. Weight has been reduced from 38 to 30kg through new 3D-printing techniques.Fitted with Audi"s Quattro all-wheel-drive system, the cutesy castor wheels rotate 360 degrees to allow it to scamper and crab its way across the moon"s knobbly and rutted surface.With a face-bending top speed of 2.2 mph, Audi"s top techies have been working late nights to make sure the rover is as rugged and practical as possible. Two cameras in the head of the rover gather 3D images of the vehicle"s surroundings, while a third is used to study materials and produce high-resolution panoramic images that can be beamed down from space.We"re not sure if it"s capable of Snapchatting its adventures yet, but with all the boffins on board, that technology can"t be far off.
Date written: 1 Dec 2016
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 5964
