Leo Rover specification

Specifications for previous versions of the Leo Rover
This is a technical specification of the Leo Rover 1.9.
If you are
looking for specification of the older version of the Leo Rover, please visit:
Introductionβ
Leo Rover is a compact, 4-wheeled, remote-controlled robot designed for indoor and outdoor robotic project development, learning, and research applications. It is equipped with a built-in computer, a high-resolution camera, and a powerful battery, making it suitable for various tasks, including autonomous navigation, obstacle detection, and remote monitoring.
Main parametersβ
Parameter | Value |
---|---|
Dimensions (LxWxH) | 424 mm x 445 mm x 303 mm |
Weight | 7 kg |
Maximum payload | 5 kg* |
Maximum linear speed | 0.4 m/s |
Maximum angular speed | 1 Rad/s |
Estimated max. obstacle size | 70 mm |
IP protection rating | IP 55 |
Operating temperature | -10 Β°C to +40 Β°C |
Run time | up to 4 hours with standard battery |
Connection range | Up to 100 m |
* - on standard tires
Traction parametersβ
Parameter | Value |
---|---|
Track Width | 354 mm |
Wheelbase length | 295 mm |
Ground clearance | 108 mm |
Climb grade (no payload) | 45Β° (100 %) |
Climb grade with 5kg payload | 45Β° (100 %) |
Hill grade traversal | 45Β° (100 %) |
Nominal torque | 4 Nm |
Maximum torque | 5.6 Nm |
Rover overviewβ


Hardware specificationβ
Dimensionsβ


Componentsβ
Name | Quantity | Description |
---|---|---|
Built-in computer | 1 | Raspberry Pi 5 - A single-board computer developed by Raspberry Pi Ltd. Key features:
|
Wi-Fi adapter | 1 | Alfa AWUS036ACS: USB 2.0 Wi-Fi adapter (Realtek RTL8811AU). Dual-band 802.11ac (AC600: 150 Mbps 2.4GHz + 433 Mbps 5GHz). |
Antenna | 1 | Dual-band (2.4 GHz / 5 GHz) placed on the top of the robot. |
Front camera | 1 | Arducam 12.3MP 477M HQ Camera Module for Raspberry Pi with 158Β°(D) M12 Wide Angle Lens. |
DC motors | 4 | BΓΌhler Motors 1.61.077.414 connected to LeoCore. |
Block diagramβ
LeoCore controllerβ
Leo Rover since version 1.8 is based on the LeoCore electronics board which, together with the Raspberry Pi computer, controls all the Rover's functionalities.

To make it easier, we listed all the interfaces used by Leo Rover as default. Just to make sure you don't interfere with them when developing.
Port | Functionality |
---|---|
Power input | to power the board |
RPi port | to power and RPi serial communication |
LED output | to control the battery LED (to show system readiness) |
Motor output A, B, C & D (PWM H-bridge) | to power the rover motors and encodes |
5-pin debug port | used to flash firmware to the board using ST-link/V2 (optionally) |
Drivetrainβ
The standard configuration of the Leo Rover features a drivetrain comprising four fixed wheels. This design enhances the mobility of the Rover, enabling it to execute precise maneuvers such as:
- turning in place ( around center of mass of the rover)
- turning around a curve
In addition, Leo Rover has a differential suspension system, which allows it to traverse uneven terrain and obstacles. The suspension system is designed to provide a smooth ride and maintain stability while driving over rough surfaces.
Motorsβ
The Rover is equipped with four in-hub DC motors, each featuring a planetary gearbox with a gear ratio of 73.2:1. This configuration allows for precise control of the Rover's movement and enables it to navigate various terrains with ease. The motors are equipped with encoders that provide feedback on the wheel's position and speed, allowing for accurate control of the Rover's movement.
Wheelsβ
As standard, Leo Rover comes with rubber tires with a diameter of about 130 mm. Whole drive assembly has following characteristics:
Parameter | Value |
---|---|
Tire size (diameter x thickness) | 125 mm x 70 mm |
Tire lock type | non beadlock |
Tire insert | soft foam (non pneumatic) |
Wheel rim diameter | 98 mm |
Battery & chargingβ
Leo Rover is powered by a 3S Li-Ion battery with a capacity of 7000 mAh. The battery is equipped with an internal battery management system (BMS) that provides protection against overcharging, over-discharging, and short circuits. The battery is designed to be easily replaceable, allowing for quick swaps during extended use.
Each battery pack has following characteristics:
Parameter | Value |
---|---|
Voltage | 11.1 V (nominal) |
Battery type | Li-Ion |
Battery cell | 18650 (Samsung INR18650-35E) |
Capacity | 7 Ah (84,7 Wh - flight safe) |
Battery pack type | 3S2P |
Maximum output power | 120 W |
Safety systems | Overcurrent, Reverse polarity protection |
Connectorsβ
By default Leo Rover uses standard WEIPU SP13-3 connectors for connecting battery, Main Electronics Box and other possible addons.
Pin name | Cable color |
---|---|
DC- | black |
DC+ | red / black with white stripe |
LED | green |
Battery chargerβ
The Rover is equipped with a 2A 12.6V Li-Ion battery charger that can charge the standard battery in approximately 4 hours. The charger is designed to be compact and portable, making it easy to transport and use in various environments. The charger is equipped with a standard 5.5/2.1 mm DC plug.
The charger is outfitted with an LED status indicator designed to provide information about the charging status of the battery. A green LED signifies that the battery has reached full charge, while a red LED indicates that the battery is currently in the charging process.
Parameter | Value |
---|---|
Voltage | 12.6 V |
Current | 2 A (max) |
Charger type | Li-Ion |
Charger plug | DC 5.5/2.1 mm (center positive) |
Charger adapter | Weipu SP13-3 - DC 5.5/2.1 mm |
To connect the charger to the battery, a Weipu SP13-3 - DC 5.5/2.1 mm adapter is included with each Rover. This adapter allows for easy and secure connection between the charger and the battery, ensuring that the charging process is efficient and safe.
For more information on how to charge the battery, please refer to the Leo Rover Getting started guide:
Payload specificationβ
Leo Rover is designed to be modular and customizable, allowing users to attach various payloads and accessories to the Rover. The Rover features a mounting platform on the top, which can accommodate different payloads and accessories. The payload capacity of the Rover is approximately 5 kg, making it suitable for a wide range of applications, including research, education, and development.
Parameter | Value |
---|---|
Payload capacity | 5 kg |
Hole grid spacing | 18 mm x 15 mm |
Mounting hole dimensions | 7 mm, equipped with T-KFS-M4-1 press-in nuts |
Main mounting plate dimensions (L x W x D) | 299 mm x 183 mm x 2 mm |
Apart from the mounting plate, it is possible to mount payloads directly to v-slot extrusions of the Leo Rover.
In order to power the payload, we recommend purchasing a Powerbox module which replaces the additional quarter of the rover.

Software specificationβ
Rapha Rover's software heavily relies on The Robot Operating System (ROS) which offers the robot the following functionalities:
- Abstraction layer facilitating communication between software components.
- Open-source software components, maintained by the community.
- A collection of standard message interfaces.
- Tools for introspection.
The primary segment of the software stack is partitioned into several ROS Nodes, treated as computational units, each doing one logical thing. The nodes interact via:
- Topics - Named buses enabling message exchange between nodes. They are strongly typed and employ anonymous publish/subscribe semantics.
- Services - A client/server mechanism for remote procedure calls between nodes. The service server accepts remote procedure requests identified by name and type, which must be known to the service client beforehand.
- Parameters - Sets of key/value pairs maintained separately by each node, utilized for node configuration during startup and runtime without necessitating code modifications.
- TF transforms - A single transform describes the relationship between 2 coordinate frames at a specific point in time. TF transforms are distributed between nodes using topics, but, for the sake of clarity, we will refer to them as separate entities.
There are two important software components which don't run as native ROS nodes:
- Controller firmware - The firmware itself acts as a ROS node but uses eProsima's Micro XRCE-DDS as its middleware. Thus, it requires the presence of the Micro-ROS Agent on the built-in computer to communicate with other ROS nodes.
- Web User Interface - The WebUI establishes a connection with the Rosbridge Server via WebSocket transport layer and employs the rosbridge protocol for communication with the ROS nodes.


Firmware specificationβ
This is the program that runs directly on the processor of the LeoCore board. It provides different functionalities to the Raspberry Pi through serial bus. The main features of the default leocore_firmware are:
- differential drive controller (cmd_vel interface)
- wheel states monitoring (joint_states interface)
- battery voltage monitoring
- wheel odometry calculation
- IMU support
Web user interface (UI)β
This is the user interface that can be accessed via a web browser. It communicates with Rosbridge server using roslibjs to access functionalities that are available in ROS topics. The default leo_ui brings features such as:
- control of the Rover via a keyboard or a virtual joystick
- display of a camera stream from Web video server
- output of current battery voltage measurement
- reboot and shutdown buttons