Update on the Qualification of the Hakuto Micro-rover for the Google Lunar X-Prize

Walker, Janet; Britton, Nathan; Yoshida, Kazuya; Shimizu, Takumi; Burtz, Louis Jerome; Pala, Alperen

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-27702-8_21

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Most often, space grade components are expensive and older technologies, especially for CPUs that have low computational power. For systems that are growing in complexity such as autonomous rovers, it would be better to use state-of-the-art Components Off the Shelf (COTS) and submit them to intensive environmental qualification tests [7,8]. The components that pass the thorough experiments can then be called space-qualified and come to a lesser overall cost.…”

Section: Prototype System Architecturementioning

confidence: 99%

Initial Design Characteristics, Testing and Performance Optimisation for a Lunar Exploration Micro-Rover Prototype

Laine

Tamakoshi

Touboulic

et al. 2018

Adv. Astronaut. Sci. Technol.

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In the field of space and planetary missions, the use of robotic systems for exploration tasks has become quite common. The recent emergence of private ventures will increase the number of missions in the upcoming years, but the budget for each one of them will have to be considerably lower than that of government-based projects. With celestial bodies the size of the moon, sending a single rover has become inefficient for full-surface exploration, mapping and resource prospecting. To achieve these objectives, two main fields require further research. First, reducing single rover's cost by making them smaller and simplifying their onboard equipment. Second, collaboration strategies for large groups of rovers should be devised to enable faster surface exploration. We are currently working on a 1-kg, three-wheeled rover prototype called Koguma. This platform is, first and foremost, to demonstrate the potential of deploying small rovers for planetary exploration. The simple design and low manufacturing cost associated with it will enable the integration of a larger number of prototypes, opening up more possibilities of field testing the collaboration software. The main concern surrounding this category of rovers is to determine the limits of their motion performances. To qualify for planetary missions, traversal capability over loose soils of varying steepness has to be assessed. In this paper, we present the design characteristics of this initial prototype. Inherited from previous generations of two-and three-wheeled rovers, we start by explaining the main motivations towards this model. From mass budget to dimensions, materials and system architecture, we will explain the ideas and reasoning behind our choices. We will then present the results surrounding initial performance tests on the Koguma platform. We conducted slope-climbing experiments using an orientation controllable sandbox. Mobility performance is assessed by evaluating the relationship between wheel key parameters and capabilities. These parameters are radius, width, and grouser size of the front wheels. Through this, we propose the first approach of design recommendations for the development of light, three-wheeled rovers.

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Section: Prototype System Architecturementioning

confidence: 99%

Initial Design Characteristics, Testing and Performance Optimisation for a Lunar Exploration Micro-Rover Prototype

Laine

Tamakoshi

Touboulic

et al. 2018

Adv. Astronaut. Sci. Technol.

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“…Their objective is to explore an inaccessible crater with a help of a mother vehicle. [15,16] also demonstrated the dual rover system connected with a tether to explore the possible skylights on the moon. A four-wheeled parent rover waits near the edge and the twowheeled child rover explores the steep terrain.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

UAV/UGV Autonomous Cooperation: UAV assists UGV to climb a cliff by attaching a tether

Miki

Khrapchenkov

Hori

2019

2019 International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA)

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This paper proposes a novel cooperative system for an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and an Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) which utilizes the UAV not only as a flying sensor but also as a tether attachment device. Two robots are connected with a tether, allowing the UAV to anchor the tether to a structure located at the top of a steep terrain, impossible to reach for UGVs. Thus, enhancing the poor traversability of the UGV by not only providing a wider range of scanning and mapping from the air, but also by allowing the UGV to climb steep terrains with the winding of the tether. In addition, we present an autonomous framework for the collaborative navigation and tether attachment in an unknown environment. The UAV employs visual inertial navigation with 3D voxel mapping and obstacle avoidance planning. The UGV makes use of the voxel map and generates an elevation map to execute path planning based on a traversability analysis. Furthermore, we compared the pros and cons of possible methods for the tether anchoring from multiple points of view. To increase the probability of successful anchoring, we evaluated the anchoring strategy with an experiment. Finally, the feasibility and capability of our proposed system were demonstrated by an autonomous mission experiment in the field with an obstacle and a cliff.

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Experimental evaluation of thermal simulation model for lunar exploration rover

Oikawa

Walker

Yoshida

2015

2015 IEEE/SICE International Symposium on System Integration (SII)

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Update on the Qualification of the Hakuto Micro-rover for the Google Lunar X-Prize

Cited by 5 publications

References 2 publications

Initial Design Characteristics, Testing and Performance Optimisation for a Lunar Exploration Micro-Rover Prototype

Initial Design Characteristics, Testing and Performance Optimisation for a Lunar Exploration Micro-Rover Prototype

UAV/UGV Autonomous Cooperation: UAV assists UGV to climb a cliff by attaching a tether

Experimental evaluation of thermal simulation model for lunar exploration rover

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