The aluminum shell protects the autonomy computer from radiation and electromagnetic interference (EMI), and conducts heat from the computer through the rover’s deck to black space. The lip around the top edge creates an ‘EMI labyrinth’ to protect the computer from external noise.
A large, heavy, layered design was originally conceived to accommodate a bulky mane of wiring.
By creating a custom circuit board to interface with the computer, most of the bulky mane of wires was eliminated. This simplified the enclosure to a smaller, thinner, cleaner design.
The fabricated enclosure protects the electronics while providing pass throughs for the cameras, inertial measurement unit, and many printed circuit boards that interface with the autonomy computer.
