TRIMODAL — Bill of Materials
Complete BOM for both variants. Prices USD, Q1 2026 estimates. Links to suppliers planned — community will maintain these.
TRIMODAL-C (Consumer) — Target \(3,000–\)8,000
Structural
| Item | Qty | Unit $ | Total | Notes |
| CF tube 30mm OD × 2mm wall × 500mm | 12 | 15 | 180 | Legs |
| Ti M4 hardware set | 1 | 45 | 45 | 200pc |
| 3D printed torso shells | 1 set | 60 | 60 | CF-PETG |
| 3D printed leg segments | 1 set | 80 | 80 | CF-PETG |
| Claw assembly kit | 2 | 40 | 80 | Steel + silicone |
| Cargo bay cylinder CF | 1 | 35 | 35 | 180mm bore |
| Bearings (various) | 1 set | 30 | 30 | 608, 6804 sizes |
| Structural subtotal | | | 510 | |
Actuators
| Item | Qty | Unit $ | Total | Notes |
| Dynamixel XL430-W250 | 30 | 50 | 1500 | 24 legs + 6 claws |
| Dynamixel U2D2 adapter | 2 | 35 | 70 | USB-TTL interface |
| TTL bus cable set | 1 | 25 | 25 | |
| Motor driver boards | 4 | 20 | 80 | Power stage |
| Actuator subtotal | | | 1675 | Largest cost item |
Compute (11 nodes)
| Item | Qty | Unit $ | Total | Notes |
| Raspberry Pi CM4 4GB/32GB | 11 | 65 | 715 | One per node |
| CM4 IO board (custom) or Waveshare | 11 | 25 | 275 | |
| 32GB microSD (backup) | 11 | 8 | 88 | |
| Compute subtotal | | | 1078 | |
Sensors
| Item | Qty | Unit $ | Total | Notes |
| ICM-42688-P IMU | 11 | 8 | 88 | Per node |
| BMP388 pressure | 11 | 5 | 55 | Per node |
| OV5640 stereo camera pair | 1 | 30 | 30 | Torso |
| LD06 lidar | 1 | 80 | 80 | Torso |
| SPH0645 mic array ×4 | 1 set | 20 | 20 | Torso |
| CCS811 + BME688 gas | 1 | 25 | 25 | Torso |
| MMC5983MA magnetometer | 11 | 6 | 66 | Per node |
| Sensor subtotal | | | 364 | |
Power
| Item | Qty | Unit $ | Total | Notes |
| Samsung 50E 21700 cells | 40 | 8 | 320 | 10S4P, 1480Wh |
| ANT BMS 10S 100A | 1 | 45 | 45 | |
| 12V→5V DC-DC (per node) | 11 | 5 | 55 | |
| Flexible solar panel 100W | 1 | 50 | 50 | 0.4m² |
| Inductive charge pad + coil | 1 | 40 | 40 | Home dock |
| Wiring harness | 1 | 35 | 35 | Pre-crimped |
| Power subtotal | | | 545 | |
Communications
| Item | Qty | Unit $ | Total | Notes |
| Gigabit Ethernet switch (11-port) | 1 | 30 | 30 | Internal node bus |
| Cat6 flat cable + connectors | 1 | 20 | 20 | |
| ESP32-S3 WiFi/BT module | 1 | 8 | 8 | Owner app link |
| SIM7600G LTE module | 1 | 35 | 35 | Remote ops |
| Comms subtotal | | | 93 | |
Miscellaneous
| Item | Total | Notes |
| Fasteners, wire, connectors | 80 | |
| Heatshrink, cable management | 30 | |
| Thermal paste, compound | 15 | |
| Silicone sealant | 20 | IP67 sealing |
| Misc subtotal | 145 | |
TRIMODAL-C TOTAL
| Category | Cost |
| Structural | $510 |
| Actuators | $1,675 |
| Compute | $1,078 |
| Sensors | $364 |
| Power | $545 |
| Comms | $93 |
| Misc | $145 |
| TOTAL | $4,410 |
Self-build with sourcing effort. Target range \(3,000–\)8,000 depending on actuator choice.
TRIMODAL-X (Extreme) — Target \(50,000–\)200,000+
Extreme variant pricing reflects specialized materials. Not consumer.
Additional materials vs TRIMODAL-C
| Item | Cost | Notes |
| SiC substrate SoC upgrade (×11) | $15,000 | GaN→SiC, 600°C rated |
| PTFE + iridium PVD coating (all surfaces) | $8,000 | Specialist process |
| SiC ceramic pressure vessel machining | $3,000 | Custom bore |
| Aerogel blanket (custom cut) | $500 | Uniform coverage |
| DU/WC/Ti cermet torso panels (×2) | $4,000 | Export controlled, mfr direct |
| TiC + CVD diamond coating | $2,500 | Specialist deposition |
| Borosilicate glass liner (cargo bay) | $400 | Custom blown |
| PTFE perovskite solar suit | $1,200 | Custom encapsulation |
| Si-C battery upgrade (5kg, 800Wh/kg) | $6,000 | Next-gen cells |
| FeRAM + MRAM per node (×11) | $2,200 | Rad-hard memory |
| Iridium sintered filter elements | $800 | 0.1μm, custom |
| Photonic quantum unit (×11) | $45,000 | Primary cost driver |
| X upgrade total | ~$88,600 | Over TRIMODAL-C base |
TRIMODAL-X TOTAL: ~\(93,000–\)150,000 (volume pricing, prototype)
For context: a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) for similar depth: \(200,000–\)500,000. TRIMODAL-X is cheaper, more capable, and autonomous.
Upgrade Paths
Consumer → Extreme is modular. Every subsystem upgrades independently:
- Battery: Li-ion → Si-C (same form factor, swap cells)
- Compute: RPi CM4 → RISC-V SoC → SiC RISC-V (same SBC footprint)
- Armor: PLA/CF → CF/TiC → full ceramic stack (redesign torso shells)
- Solar: Amorphous Si → GaAs flex → PTFE perovskite (velcro swap)
- Comms: Ethernet → fiber sim → real WDM (swap HAL driver)
- Quantum: Classical QUBO sim → FPGA → photonic QPU (API unchanged)
The software stack is identical across all upgrade levels. HAL drivers are the only thing that changes.