Mobile Robot Rough-Terrain Control (RTC) for Planetary Exploration

Abstract

Abstract Mobile robots are increasingly being developed for high-risk missions in rough terrain situations, such as planetary exploration. Here a rough-terrain control (RTC) methodology is presented that exploits the actuator redundancy found in multi-wheeled mobile robot systems to improve ground traction and reduce power consumption. The methodology “chooses” an optimization criterion based on the local terrain profile. A key element of the method is to be able to estimate the wheel-ground contact angles. A method using an extended Kalman filter is presented for estimating these angles using simple on-board sensors. Simulation results for a wheeled micro-rover traversing Mars-like terrain demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithms.