baalke@mars.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke) (10/31/90)
From the "JPL Universe"
October 26, 1990
"Robby Roves Arroyo as Prelude to Mars"
JPL scientists and engineers have for the first time programmed a
computer-driven planetary vehicle to traverse 100 meters of rugged natural
terrain without human guidance. The test in September was considered a
significent milestone in development of a semi-autonomous navigation system
for a planet-roving vehicle.
A mission using a computerized rover is expected to precede any manned
mission to another planet. The rover, called "Robby" by the Section 347
experimenters, covered the 100 meters in about 4 hours and 20 minutes,
moving cautiously about two meters at a time, then stopping to survey
ahead another two meters.
The test was in the rugged Arroyo Seco between the east lot and Oak
Grove Park. The course was not preprogrammed in that the end of the course
was not in the vehicle's stereo vision. It was obscured by foliage and
rocks and no information about the specific terrain was provided in the
testbed computer.
By using the stereo television cameras, Robby surveyed the area and made
its own map, two meters at a time. When it encountered a flat plane, it
proceeded directly toward the goal, when it encountered an obstacle, it made
a new map and modified its path to go around it, rather than over it.
The unprecedented accomplishment was that the vehicle's stereo ranging
perceived the terrain in three dimensions, and it artificial intelligence
planned, without human help, a safe path to its goal. It was all done within
a power and volume compatible with the onboard resources of a Mars surface
vehicle. To complete the 100-meter semi-autonomous navigation milestone, the
engineers had to integrate sensing, perception, planning and control into
the self-contained vehicle.
The long-range technology development goal is to go 20 kilometers, about
13 miles, in one day. The overall program goals are to develop the
technology to enable planetary surface transportation with unmanned science
and exploration rovers, along with mining and construction vehicles.
Vehicles such as Robby, but space-qualified and even smarter, would
cross the red, rocky wastes of Mars to find safe paths for future visits
by space-traveling men and women.
JPL's work is performed in cooperation with NASA's Office of
Aeronautics, Exploration and Technology.
___ _____ ___
/_ /| /____/ \ /_ /|
| | | | __ \ /| | | | Ron Baalke | baalke@mars.jpl.nasa.gov
___| | | | |__) |/ | | |___ Jet Propulsion Lab | baalke@jems.jpl.nasa.gov
/___| | | | ___/ | |/__ /| M/S 301-355 |
|_____|/ |_|/ |_____|/ Pasadena, CA 91109 |