Robotics

World’s smallest, cheapest network switch developed by US high school robotics team — Murex Robotics makes the hardware fully open-source


Whatever you were doing in high school, it probably wasn’t this cool. Murex Robotics, the underwater robotics team of Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire, has created what it claims is the world’s smallest network switch, and for significantly less money than any of its larger counterparts. 

Designed for use in a remotely piloted underwater rover, the mrxSwitch v2.0 supplies five 100 Mbps Ethernet ports at a footprint of only 44.9mm by 42.2mm. Network switches of this form factor are typically reserved for highly embedded systems; the team prioritizes its use in remote-operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) or autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), but IoT devices and other consumer devices with space constraints may have use for network switches this small. The switch in Murex’s case can allow a Raspberry Pi, NUC, or other computer to communicate with IP cameras, driver motors, or any of the rest of its tools to operate a robot underwater.



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