Physics-Based Planning for Planetary Exploration

Recently a planetary rover returned important scientific information from Mars. More ambitious missions are planned. New planning methods are required that allow rovers to explore challenging areas with a high level of autonomy. This paper presents a planning methodology based on a physics-based model of the rover and environment. Plans are developed that allow a rover to perform a mission while explicitly considering constraints such as power, actuator, wheel slip, and vehicle stability limits. Results obtained from detailed rover simulations are presented.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 1998
• Where: ICRA
• Authors: Shane Farritor, Hervé Hacot, Steven Dubowsky
• Keywords: Detailed Rover Simulations, ICRA 1998, Planetary Rover, Robotics, Rover