Autonomous navigation system for MRoSA2 with focus on mobility
and localization
Abstract: Autonomous navigation is important for robots operating in unstructured
environments, particularly in planetary exploration missions where
communication delay is also an issue. The design of an autonomous navigation
system is not a trivial problem, particularly for tracked vehicles. Despite
their ability in offering better traction for mobile robots on unknown
terrains, the complex dynamics resulting from the skid-steering principle in
tracked vehicles have made this type of locomotion an atypical choice for
planetary rovers which requires accurate motion control. In this study, a
mobility library for European Space Agency (ESA)'s tracked rover ROSA is
developed. Based on a strictly kinematic model analogous to that of a
differential wheeled vehicle, slippage and track-soil interaction of the
tracked rover are partially accounted for in the driving commands. Using a 3D
tracking technique with on-rover beacons and stereo images from the
stationary lander, the accuracy of the mobility system can be investigated.
The stereo images from the lander would also be used as a platform for
designating sites of interest, whose 3D spatial coordinates would be
reconstructed by stereopsis. Navigational guidance in reaching target
locations could then be provided by the user in the form of waypoints from
which a smooth path would be generated and translated by the control software
into a series of motion commands for the rover.
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