Although construction of the robot’s locomotion chassis is not yet finished, enough is completed to give an impression of the overall status. The photos below show the current state as of February 26th (click a picture for a full-size image):
The chassis frame was constructed from 4″ aluminum channel for the front and rear battery compartments, and 5″ aluminum channel for the central payload section. The legs were constructed from various parts bought from Servo City (a excellent source for mechanical components and materials) with a few parts from McMaster-Carr (e.g., heavier springs for the shocks).
Next on the agenda is to finish buying the remaining leg motors, obtain corresponding H-bridge motor controllers, and connect a Raspberry Pi as the main computer. At that point the robot will have everything it needs to start moving on its own.