Slippage estimation and compensation for planetary exploration rovers. State of the art and future challenges

Abstract

Future lunar/planetary exploration missions will demand mobile robots with the capability of reaching more challenging science targets and driving farther per day than the current Mars rovers. Among other improvements, reliable slippage estimation and compensation strategies will play a key role in enabling a safer and more efficient navigation. This paper reviews and discusses this body of research in the context of planetary exploration rovers. Previously published state‐of‐the‐art methods that have been validated through field testing are included as exemplary results. Limitations of the current techniques and recommendations for future developments and planetary missions close the survey.

Active Disturbance Rejection Control for Handling Slip in Tracked Vehicle Locomotion

“…Depending on the size and inertia of the robot and the type of terrain, this can lead to cases where the effect leads to inefficient navigation profiles, jerky motion, and may even be significant enough to prevent the robot from reaching the desired goal. A recent review by Gonzalez and Iagnemma [10] states that reliable slip estimation and compensation strategies play a major role in enabling safe and efficient navigation. Even though the review focuses mainly on extraterrestrial rovers, the limitations of current techniques and the persisting challenges as reviewed by the authors are relevant to autonomous ground vehicles in general.…”

“…In general, longitudinal slip is defined as the difference between the velocity measured at the wheel and the linear velocity at the center of the wheel [10]. The velocity measured at the wheel is given by Xr, where X is the rotational speed and r is the wheel radius.…”

Improved Planetary Rover Inertial Navigation and Wheel Odometry Performance through Periodic Use of Zero-Type Constraints

“…Although MSL's 200-MHz CPU has reduced the onboard processing time to under 40 seconds per step [13] [14], the other limitation of VO arises on low-feature terrains (e.g., sand dunes, shadowed areas). A low number of detected and tracked features can lead to poor accuracy of motion estimate [15].…”

High‐speed mobility on planetary surfaces: A technical review

“…">The combination of high‐speed mobility, an irregular terrain, and a reduced‐gravity field caused an excessive bouncing of the suspension, which subsequently affected maneuverability by reducing the ability and effectiveness to brake and turn. Even with the overpower of Apollo and Luna rovers, which allowed them to progress with very high slip ratios, traversing through sandy slopes, crater rims, and ejecta blocks—typically composed of fine and lower cohesive lunar soil—presented a high risk of entrapment and similar difficulties to that found on past and present robotic exploration missions to Mars (Gonzalez & Iagnemma, ). Fatal events were caused by the extreme temperature fluctuations of the lunar day–night cycle and the radical difference between bright and shadowed areas.…”

“…ii. Even with the overpower of Apollo and Luna rovers, which allowed them to progress with very high slip ratios, traversing through sandy slopes, crater rims, and ejecta blocks-typically composed of fine and lower cohesive lunar soil-presented a high risk of entrapment and similar difficulties to that found on past and present robotic exploration missions to Mars (Gonzalez & Iagnemma, 2017).…”