Are the GEARS-IDS components compatible with standard hobby RC radios and servos?
Yes, the GEARS-IDS system is fully customizable. We want students and teachers to have the design flexibility to use RC equipment from a variety of manufacturers, and the freedom to choose the equipment that best meets their design requirements. Some mechatronic designs need only three channels of control while others may require 7 or 9 channels. The GEARS-IDS system is deliberately designed as an “Open” platform. In fact we encourage educators and students to incorporate as many real engineering components and “found” items as possible in order to “engineer” solutions to the design problems and inventive opportunities they create. We believe that a ruggedly built, universal construction platform intended for indoor/outdoor use, provides the most creative opportunities for engineering education. Below is an example of a grasping manipulator that was fashioned by cutting 1″ inch strips from a short section of a 10″ diameter PVC pipe that was leftover from a local road construction proje
