Our Rovers do not have computers inside them but the R&D Payload does. We recommend all new customer purchase an R&D Payload which comes pre-loaded with ROS and allows you to drive the robot around with a controller within 5 minutes of unboxing.

Want to use your own computer? No problem, just check out our computer setup guide on our docs page to see how we recommend setting up a computer. Its the same document we use internally and it take about 30 minutes to go through. Be aware that the setup guide does not include how to make the computer boot on power which varies by computer. If your having problems figuring out how to do that you can reach out to us on our support page.

Yes, both the Rover Pro and Rover Zero use brush-less geared motors with encoders on the back of the shaft. The data from them is exposed in our ROS driver or by using our UART protocol. The raw data is very noisy since the encoder measurements are taken before the gearbox. We recommend filtering that data and if ingesting the data into a Kalman filter use different covariances when your stopped, going straight, and turning.

The Rovers have only encoders and motor temperature sensors. All other sensors are meant to be put into the payload. This is because sensor technology is changing fast and this allows for using the latest and greatest sensors without having to redesign the whole robot.

Yes, and its very easy. It takes about 5 minutes to convert from one drive type to another.

We are currently only shipping product outside the US for existing customers