So, looking for a cheaper rover platform, say under $500?
Roger Cheng was inspired by JPL’s Open Source Rover project and created a much cheaper alternative, Sawppy. Most of the differences between Sawppy and its JPL inspiration were motivated by a desire to reduce cost and complexity.
The main differences with Swappy is using serial bus servo motors rather than gearmotors with encoders and replacing the Actobotics construction system with aluminum extrusions beams connected by 3D-printed plastic parts.
Roger includes complete assembly instructions, CAD and STL files, videos, and a build blog with stories of the design goals and lessons learned from failures.