Build a Color-Detecting Rover

Summary

Areas of Science

Robotics
Space Exploration

Difficulty

Method

Engineering Design Process

Time Required

Average (6-10 days)

Prerequisites

Previous experience with Arduino is recommended before you try this project. See our How to Use an Arduino page.

Material Availability

The Science Buddies Electronics Kit for Arduino and Bluebot 4-in-1 Robotics kit contain most of the parts you need for this project. The TCS3200 color sensor and additional male-female jumper wires must be purchased separately.

Cost

Very High (over $150)

Safety

No issues

Credits

Ben Finio, PhD, Science Buddies

This project idea is inspired by this classroom activity from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory:
Robotics: Creating a Roving Science Lab

Science Buddies is committed to creating content authored by scientists and educators. Learn more about our process and how we use AI.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIJcqiqYXG8

Abstract

The Mars Curiosity and Perseverance rovers use scientific instruments, nicknamed ChemCam (Figure 1) and SuperCam respectively, to help them analyze the composition of rocks and soil on Mars. You can learn more about these cameras from the resources in the Bibliography, and more about why scientists want to analyze rocks on Mars from the video on this page.

Image Credit: NASA / Public Domain

Figure 1. The two main parts of the ChemCam instrument on the Mars Curiosity rover. 

For a science project, can you build your own model Mars rover with a sensor that can detect and react to different colors? Different colors can represent different types of rocks. As explained in the video above, collecting samples and studying different types of rocks can help scientists learn about the history of Mars and even whether the planet once had life. Can you construct a model Martian landscape and program your rover to drive around and locate different types of "rocks"?

The Science Buddies Bluebot kit is a good Arduino-compatible platform you can use to build a mobile robot, and we have many projects to help you get started. The TCS3200 color sensor is a popular option to detect color for Arduino projects. As shown in the tutorial video on this page (where you can also download the example code), you can calibrate the sensor to identify different colored squares of paper. You could even try testing and calibrating it for different types of real rocks. You may wish to include other sensors, like the ultrasonic sensor in our Arduino autonomous car project, to help your rover detect and avoid obstacles. You could even use servo motors and build a robotic gripper or arm for your robot to collect samples.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPFQrKC0nSg

Alternatively, you could also use the color sensor to build a more advanced version of a circuit that detects ripe produce. Can you think of other ways you could use a color sensor in a science project?

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