Experimental Validation of Physics-Based Planning and Control Algorithms for Planetary Robotic Rovers

: Robotic planetary exploration is a major component of the United States’ NASA space science program. The focus of our research is to develop rover planning and control algorithms for high-performance robotic planetary explorers based on the physics of these systems. Experimental evaluation is essential to ensure that unmodeled effects do not degrade algorithm performance. To perform this evaluation a low-cost rover test-bed has been developed. It consists of a rocker-bogie type rover with an on-board manipulator operating in a rough-terrain environment. In this paper the design and fabrication of an experimental rover system is described, and the experimental validation of several rover control algorithms is presented. The experimental results obtained are key to the evaluation and validation of our research.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 1999
• Where: ISER
• Authors: Karl Iagnemma, Robert Burn, Eric Wilhelm, Steven Dubowsky
• Keywords: Control Algorithms, ISER 1999, Robotic Planetary, Robotics, Rover