Design and Development of an Intelligent Rover for Mars Exploration (Updated) (original) (raw)
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Design and Development of an Intelligent Rover for Mars Exploration
2016
The paper describes various issues faced by rover in an alien environment and attempts to solve each of them using innovative design modifications. The rover features a bioinspired eight-wheeled drive mechanism, an integrated robotic arm and a stereo vision technique for advanced image processing. The system control, for both the rover as well the robotic arm, is done using microcontrollers and microprocessors such as Arduino, Intel NUC, and Raspberry Pi. Inspired from nature, a reflex mechanism has also been integrated into the rover design to minimize damage, by automated safety reflexes. The arm is so designed to switch between three different end effectors depending upon the task to be performed. The 8wheeled rover combines the rocker bogie mechanism and four rocker wheels and four spider-leg wheels. The spider-legs ensures that it can traverse over a considerable height greater than the chassis height which could be as much as thrice the diameter of the wheels ,whereas the curr...
Intelligent Deployable Mini Rover from the Mars Rover for Deep Narrow Scientific Investigation
International Journal of Scientific Research in Computer Science, Engineering and Information Technology, 2019
The paper describes various issues faced by mini rover deployed from main rover in an alien environment and the ways to solve them. The rover features a rocker bogie mechanism with differential drive, collision free distance sensing, wireless XBee control and camera Vision. The rover features a flexible segmented body with a multipurpose arm, corresponding multi wheel mechanism and Kinect module integration for advanced image processing. The system control, for both the Rover as well the robotic arm integrated with it, is done using feasible yet extremely efficient microcontrollers and microprocessors such as Arduino, Raspberry pi etc. Inspired from nature, a reflex mechanism has also been integrated into the rover design to minimize damage, by automated safety reflexes. The six wheeled rocker bogie mechanism ensures that it can traverse over a considerable height greater than the chassis height which could be as much as twice the diameter of the wheels. The rocker bogie mechanism provides traction due to its body weight. The rover finds applications in the exploration of other planets and harsh environments. Such an effort may even prove to be instrumental in detection and study of biological activity in worlds other than ours.
An Enhanced Prototype of Rover for Space Exploration
Advances in Astronautics Science and Technology, 2020
Rovers, ultimate automobile for the investigation of the nearby planetary group, are capable of assisting researchers in their exploration as well as the breakdown of the formation of Mars. In this research, we are proposing a model of wanderer which is fit for self-adjusting to various landscapes along with environments with the end goal of fruitful investigation. In addition, it is designed to make a trip to various zones, gather earth samples, measure pH, compute weight, screen different states of weather such as warmth, dampness and wind velocity, sense the formation of toxic gas, and not to mention conduct rescue mission. Notably, the wheels are constructed using buoyant substances like polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Moreover, a unique suspension framework is designed on the basis of the modified rocker-bogie system to make the wanderer adaptive to the uneven surface of Mars. Besides, a global positioning system (GPS) is incorporated with the vehicle so that its movement can be tracked and the prototype can roam autonomously. In other words, the rover is capable of conducting self-sustained exploration even if the condition is inhospitable. Another key point is that the proposed prototype is more cost-effective than the existing ones which have already been reported in the literature. As a result, the suggested model may have a decent potential not only in space exploration but also in the quest of life on Mars.
Autonomous robot exploration of unknown terrain: A preliminary model of mars rover robot
2008
The paper presents an evolutionary robotics model of the Rover Mars robot. This work has the objective to investigate the possibility of using an alternative sensor system, based on infrared sensors, for future rovers capable of performing autonomous tasks in challenging planetary terrain environments. The simulation model of the robot and of Mars terrain is based on a physics engine. The robot control system consists of an artificial neural network trained using evolutionary computation techniques. An adaptive threshold on the infrared sensors has been evolved together with the neural control system to allow the robot to adapt itself to many different environmental conditions. The properties of the behaviour obtained after the evolutionary process has been tested by measuring the performance of the rover under various terrain conditions. Simulations results show that the robot, at the end of the evolutionary process, is able to avoid rocks, holes and steep slopes based purely on the information provided by the infrared sensors.
Current results from a rover science data analysis system
2005 IEEE Aerospace Conference, 2005
The Onboard Autonomous Science Investigation System (OASIS) evaluates geologic data gathered by a planetary rover. This analysis is used to prioritize the data for transmission, so that the data with the highest science value is transmitted to Earth. In addition, the onboard analysis results are used to identify science opportunities. A planning and scheduling component of the system enables the rover to take advantage of the identified science opportunity. OASIS is a NASA-funded research project that is currently being tested on the FIDO rover at JPL for use on future missions.
Progress towards robotic exploration of extreme terrain
Applied Intelligence, 1992
A high degree of mobility, reliability, and efficiency are needed for autonomous exploration of extreme terrain. These requirements have guided the development of the Ambler, a six-legged robot designed for planetary exploration. To address issues of efficiency and mobility, the Ambler is configured with a stacked arrangement of orthogonal legs and exhibits a unique circulating gait, where trailing legs recover directly from rear to front. The Ambler is designed to stably traverse a 30 degree slope while crossing meter sized features. The same three principles have provided many constraints on the design of a software system that autonomously navigates the Ambler through natural terrain using 3-D perception and a combined deliberative/reactive architecture. The software system has required research advances in real-time control, perception of rugged terrain, motion planning, task-level control, and system integration. This paper presents many of the factors that influenced the design of the Ambler and its software system. In particular, important assumptions regarding the mechanism, perception, planning, and control are presented and evaluated in light of experimental and theoretical research of this project.
Autonomous Rover Technology for Mars Sample Return
1999
Planetary rovers enable good sample selection and retrieval for Mars sample return missions. After landing, the rovers search for the best possible scientific samples in the region around a lander, and they return these selected samples to an ascent vehicle that launches the samples into Mars orbit. To streamline the search for, the acquisition, and the retrieval of samples, rover autonomy is a critical technology. This paper summarizes a series of experimental results in the evaluation and demonstration of planetary rover autonomy, with a particular emphasis on rover system technology capabilities under development for a 2005 Mars sample return mission and its precursor missions.
Mongol Barota: A next generation rover
The 8th International Conference on Software, Knowledge, Information Management and Applications (SKIMA 2014), 2014
Abstract-This paper scrutinizes Mongol Barota -a fully functional, stand-alone mobile platform rover which is capable to act as a human assistant to perform various scientific tasks in extreme adversities. The control system of the rover is designed in such a way that it can be commanded from a blind station within 1 kilometer range. It has successfully taken part in 8 th annual University Rover Challenge organized by the Mars Society at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in the remote, barren desert of southern Utah, USA in late May, 2014. It has been traced out as the first entrance in this competition from Bangladesh and occupied 12 th position out of 31 registered teams from 6 countries of 4 continents. The rover architecture maps the associated components to make it capable to perform the assigned tasks namely -Sample Return Task, Astronaut Assistance Task, Equipment Servicing Task and Terrain Traversing Task. Among these, the first task refers to search for the evidence to identify the existence of life after detailed analysis of collected soil sample from a selected site. In Equipment servicing task, rover has to perform a sequence of operations that mainly includes switching on a compressor and working with a series of pipes, hoses, valves and other such equipment. Astronaut assistance task intends the rover to collect tools from some given GPS locations and then delivery of each of them to the corresponding locations with provided GPS coordinates. Rover has to traverse an adverse terrain in order to pass through a set of target gates for completion of the terrain traversing task. This paper provides a detailed demonstration of the Mongol Barota rover, ins and outs of its architecture, facts and features, system components, logic, logistics and techniques adopted to implement several tasks representing its overall capabilities.
Computing Research Repository, 2009
In previous work, a platform was developed for testing computer-vision algorithms for robotic planetary exploration. This platform consisted of a digital video camera connected to a wearable computer for real-time processing of images at geological and astrobiological field sites. The real-time processing included image segmentation and the generation of interest points based upon uncommonness in the segmentation maps. Also in previous work, this platform for testing computer-vision algorithms has been ported to a more ergonomic alternative platform, consisting of a phone camera connected via the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network to a remote-server computer. The wearable-computer platform has been tested at geological and astrobiological field sites in Spain (Rivas Vaciamadrid and Riba de Santiuste), and the phone camera has been tested at a geological field site in Malta. In this work, we (i) apply a Hopfield neural-network algorithm for novelty detection based upon colour, (ii) integrate a field-capable digital microscope on the wearable computer platform, (iii) test this novelty detection with the digital microscope at Rivas Vaciamadrid, (iv) develop a Bluetooth communication mode for the phone-camera platform, in order to allow access to a mobile processing computer at the field sites, and (v) test the novelty detection on the Bluetooth-enabled phone camera connected to a netbook computer at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah. This systems engineering and field testing have together allowed us to develop a real-time computer-vision system that is capable, for example, of identifying lichens as novel within a series of images acquired in semi-arid desert environments. We acquired sequences of images of geologic outcrops in Utah and Spain consisting of various rock types and colours to test this algorithm. The algorithm robustly recognized previously observed units by their colour, while requiring only a single image or a few images to learn colours as familiar, demonstrating its fast learning capability.