Agilex SCOUT MINI R&D KIT (SCOUT MINI R&D KIT)

Agilex SCOUT MINI R&D KIT (SCOUT MINI R&D KIT)

In practice, the SCOUT MINI R&D KIT is positioned as a “ready-to-research” robot platform: it combines a compact differential-steering chassis with onboard compute, camera sensing, and 360-degree LiDAR, while leaving physical and electrical expansion capacity for additional sensors and payloads.

 Design and Features

Mobile base and mobility

At the chassis level, the SCOUT MINI platform emphasizes agile movement using four-wheel drive, independent suspension, and differential steering with a zero turning radius (turn-in-place). The base is described as a compact, high-speed research robot capable of reaching up to 10 km/h (unloaded) and supporting experimentation in varied indoor and outdoor environments. 

The SCOUT MINI design also supports modularity through aluminum T-slot rails for mounting accessories and external modules, along with an open development posture via SDK/software resources and common robotics workflows (e.g., simulation and visualization). 

Integrated development kit concept

The R&D KIT variant focuses on simplifying robotics research by providing:

• An integrated camera and 360° LiDAR for exploration and perception

• Pre-installed sensor drivers to reduce initial integration work

• Reserved integration space for adding more sensors

• Compatibility with commonly used robotics tools such as Gazebo and remote-access workflows (e.g., NoMachine) 

Technology and Specifications

Core platform specifications (SCOUT MINI base)

Published specifications for the SCOUT MINI base commonly include a compact footprint and research-friendly mobility and interfaces. A representative specification set lists:

• Dimensions: 627 × 550 × 252 mm

• Weight: ~20 kg

• Payload: 10 kg

• Max speed: 10 km/h

• Climbing ability: up to 30°

• Obstacle surmounting: ~70 mm

• Protection level: IP22

• Interfaces: CAN, RS232 

The SCOUT MINI user manual also documents electrical and expansion connectivity, including an aviation-style extension interface providing power (23–29.2 V) and CAN bus pins intended for powering and communicating with external devices. 

R&D KIT performance indicators (kit listing)

The SCOUT MINI R&D KIT product listing highlights headline operating targets such as 25 kg payload, approximately 3 hours runtime, and a listed speed figure of 1 m/s for the kit context. 
(Note: “payload” and performance can vary depending on configuration, surface, duty cycle, and added sensors.)

Onboard compute (Jetson-based)

A key differentiator of the SCOUT MINI R&D KIT is its onboard NVIDIA Jetson computer, described as pre-installed NVIDIA Jetson Nano for the development kit configuration. 

A higher-performance “PRO” configuration is described as using NVIDIA Xavier (Jetson AGX Xavier-class), with an 8-core ARM CPU, Tensor Core Volta GPU, and 32 GB LPDDR4x memory, plus a pre-installed Linux/ROS environment noted as “ROS Ubuntu 18.4” on the product page. 

Sensors (camera + 360° LiDAR; PRO LiDAR details)

The kit is described as including a camera and 360° LiDAR to support exploration and perception tasks. 
For the PRO variant, AgileX describes a 16-beam 3D 360° LiDAR with a stated maximum range of up to 150 meters, supporting both horizontal and vertical scanning. 

Applications and Use Cases

The SCOUT MINI R&D KIT is typically used as a mobile robotics platform for education, prototyping, and applied research. Common use cases include:

Indoor SLAM and autonomous navigation

With 360° LiDAR and a camera integrated and drivers pre-installed, the kit targets indoor SLAM, localization, and navigation development—often the first stage for labs building autonomous mobile robot (AMR) stacks. 

Robotics perception and computer vision

Camera-based perception tasks—object detection, tracking, semantic mapping, and dataset collection—are common projects for Jetson-powered mobile robots, especially where real-time inference at the edge is required. 

Education and curriculum-based robotics

Universities and technical programs often use compact ROS-compatible mobile bases to teach sensor fusion, motion control, path planning, and systems integration. The SCOUT MINI base is explicitly positioned as a research and education platform with modifiable interfaces and expansion options. 

Payload integration and prototype deployment

The platform’s expansion rails and CAN-based peripherals support add-ons such as additional lidars, depth cameras, GPS modules (for outdoor work), and manipulator payload experiments—depending on the target environment and integration requirements. 

Advantages / Benefits

The SCOUT MINI R&D KIT is often selected for its combination of mobility, integrated sensors, and onboard compute:

• Reduced integration effort: pre-installed sensor drivers and bundled sensors are intended to shorten time-to-first-experiment. 

• ROS-friendly platform: the base is marketed and documented as ROS-compatible, with interfaces commonly used in robotics labs. 

• Edge AI capability: Jetson-based compute supports on-robot perception and autonomy experiments without relying on a tethered workstation.

• Modular expansion: physical mounting rails and CAN/power expansion allow researchers to add sensors and payloads. 

FAQ Section

What is the AgileX SCOUT MINI R&D KIT?

The AgileX SCOUT MINI R&D KIT is a ROS-ready mobile robotics development platform that combines the SCOUT MINI mobile base with integrated perception sensors (camera + 360° LiDAR) and onboard NVIDIA Jetson compute to accelerate robotics research and education workflows. 

How does the SCOUT MINI R&D KIT work?

The kit works as a self-contained mobile robot platform: onboard compute runs robotics software (commonly ROS-based), while LiDAR and camera sensors provide perception data for SLAM, mapping, navigation, and vision. Pre-installed sensor drivers and tool compatibility (e.g., Gazebo) are intended to reduce setup time. 

Why is the SCOUT MINI R&D KIT important?

It addresses a common barrier in robotics R&D—time-consuming hardware/software integration—by bundling sensors, compute, and drivers in a single platform. This helps teams focus on autonomy algorithms, perception models, and experiments rather than starting from a blank integration stack. 

What are the benefits of the SCOUT MINI R&D KIT?

Key benefits include faster time-to-first-experiment (pre-installed drivers), ROS compatibility, edge AI capability via Jetson compute, and modular expansion via mounting rails and CAN/power interfaces for additional sensors and payloads. 

Summary

The AgileX SCOUT MINI R&D KIT is a research-focused mobile robot development platform that combines a compact, agile SCOUT MINI base with integrated perception (camera + 360° LiDAR) and Jetson-class edge compute, targeting rapid prototyping for ROS mobile robotics, indoor SLAM, navigation, and vision-driven autonomy.