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Experimental study and analysis of the position and attitude deviation of planetary rover during driving

Zhicheng Jia, Jingfu Jin, Xinju Dong, Lianbin He, Meng Zou, Yingchun Qi

Journal of Terramechanics, Volumes 113–114, 2024, 100974, ISSN 0022-4898

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jterra.2024.100974.(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022489824000168)

Abstract: Reducing the position and attitude deviation of the planetary rover while driving is an important issue that needs to be considered in the design and controller development of the new types of planetary rovers at this stage. It is also the basis for whether the rovers can carry out exploration missions with high precision requirements on the complex terrain of planetary surfaces. A systematic study of the deviation problems generated by planetary rovers under the most basic open-loop path control is of great significance to improve the effectiveness of planetary detection. In this study, based on simulated Martian terrain and soil, planetary rover driving experiments under various scenes were conducted to test the resulting position and attitude deviation and evaluation indexes under different path types, terrain distributions, driving speeds and steering radius. By combining the experimental phenomena, the action characteristics of single wheel with ground and its influence on the state of the whole vehicle during the deviation generation process are analyzed. And finally, the discussion and conclusion are directed to how to optimize the planetary rover path control. These systematic experiments and analyses can provide valuable references for researchers engaged in the development of mobile controllers for planetary rovers.

Keywords: Planetary rover; Position and attitude deviation; Simulated Martian terrain; Path control; Terrain distribution; Slip