Design of a laboratory test bed for planetary rover systems

Abstract

Robotic rovers are an important tool for scientists to explore and gather data from other planets. This thesis presents the design of an experimental test bed for studying planetary rover systems. The design of a six-wheeled rocker bogie rover and a mechanism for this rover to vary its geometry using shape memory alloys are presented. The rover's geometry is scaled from Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Lightweight Survivable Rover (LSR). The 3 degree of freedom manipulator arm and two end-effector designs are also detailed. These mechanisms are serving as the experimental system for studying control, vision, and planning issues of future rovers. Experimental results are presented for each design. From these results, future work and designs applicable to a Mars planetary rover are discussed.