Seeker—Autonomous Long‐range Rover Navigation for Remote Exploration |
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Authors: | Mark Woods Andrew Shaw Estelle Tidey Bach Van Pham Lacroix Simon Raja Mukherji Brian Maddison Gary Cross Aron Kisdi Wayne Tubby Gianfranco Visentin Guillermo Chong |
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Affiliation: | 1. SCISYS, , Bristol, BS4 5SS United Kingdom;2. Roke Manor Research, , Romsey, SO51 7SA United Kingdom;3. CNRS, LAAS, , Toulouse, France;4. Université de Toulouse, LAAS, , Toulouse, France;5. MDA Space and Robotics Limited, , Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 0QX United Kingdom;6. Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, , Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 OQX;7. BAE Systems, Advanced Technology Centre, , Filton, Bristol, BS34 7QW United Kingdom;8. ESA/ESTEC, Keplerlaan 1, Postbus 299, , The Netherlands;9. Departamento de Ciencias Geológicas Universidad Católica del Norte, , Antofagasta, Chile |
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Abstract: | Under the umbrella of the European Space Agency (ESA) StarTiger program, a rapid prototyping study called Seeker was initiated. A range of partners from space and nonspace sectors were brought together to develop a prototype Mars rover system capable of autonomously exploring several kilometers of highly representative Mars terrain over a three‐day period. This paper reports on our approach and the final field trials that took place in the Atacama Desert, Chile. Long‐range navigation and the associated remote rover field trials are a new departure for ESA, and this activity therefore represents a novel initiative in this area. The primary focus was to determine if current computer vision and artificial intelligence based software could enable such a capability on Mars, given the current limit of around 200 m per Martian day. The paper does not seek to introduce new theoretical techniques or compare various approaches, but it offers a unique perspective on their behavior in a highly representative environment. The final system autonomously navigated 5.05 km in highly representative terrain during one day. This work is part of a wider effort to achieve a step change in autonomous capability for future Mars/lunar exploration rover platforms. |
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