Integrating the Sam Sensor with the Mars Rover Simulator

Abstract

A computer simulation of complex hardware and software amalgamated bot is often a better alternative to traditional scaled-up or scaled-down physical replications of the bots. In accordance, our project encompasses the simulation of the Mars Rover in a local machine. In its implementation, it consists of two parts, the Rover and the Mission Control and Command Center. The Rover and Mission Control communicate with each other through a common communications’ protocol. The simulation also incorporates logging for status and analysis, making debugging possible. The simulation takes into account sensors such as the REMS, radio, spectrometer, Apxs, DAN and a radiation detector. In addition, there is a service layer that fetches relevant data for various rover sensors. The paper throws light on the implementation of the SAM(Sample Analysis on Mars) suite of instruments for the Mars Rover simulation