Efficient autonomous navigation for planetary rovers with limited resources

Rovers operating on Mars require more and more autonomous features to fulfill their challenging mission requirements. However, the inherent constraints of space systems render the implementation of complex algorithms an expensive and difficult task. In this paper, we propose an architecture for auto...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of field robotics 2020-10, Vol.37 (7), p.1153-1170
Main Authors: Gerdes, Levin, Azkarate, Martin, Sánchez‐Ibáñez, José Ricardo, Joudrier, Luc, Perez‐del‐Pulgar, Carlos Jesús
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algorithms
Architecture
Autonomous navigation
autonomy
exploration
Field tests
Hazard mitigation
perception
planetary robotics
Planetary rovers
planning
Trajectory planning
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Summary:Rovers operating on Mars require more and more autonomous features to fulfill their challenging mission requirements. However, the inherent constraints of space systems render the implementation of complex algorithms an expensive and difficult task. In this paper, we propose an architecture for autonomous navigation. Efficient implementations of autonomous features are built on top of the ExoMars path following navigation approach to enhance the safety and traversing capabilities of the rover. These features allow the rover to detect and avoid hazards and perform significantly longer traverses planned by operators on the ground. The efficient navigation approach has been implemented and tested during field test campaigns on a planetary analogue terrain. The experiments evaluated the proposed architecture by autonomously completing several traverses of variable lengths while avoiding hazards. The approach relies only on the optical Localization Cameras stereo bench, a sensor that is found in all current rovers, and potentially allows for computationally inexpensive long‐range autonomous navigation in terrains of medium difficulty.
ISSN:1556-4959
1556-4967
DOI:10.1002/rob.21981