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This paper aims to introduce an efficient active-simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) approach for rover navigation, future planetary rover exploration mission requires the rover to automatically localize itself with high accuracy.

A three-dimensional (3D) feature detection method is first proposed to extract salient features from the observed point cloud, after that, the salient features are employed as the candidate destinations for re-visiting under SLAM structure, followed by a path planning algorithm integrated with SLAM, wherein the path length and map utility are leveraged to reduce the growth rate of state estimation uncertainty.

The proposed approach is able to extract distinguishable 3D landmarks for feature re-visiting, and can be naturally integrated with any SLAM algorithms in an efficient manner to improve the navigation accuracy.

This paper proposes a novel active-SLAM structure for planetary rover exploration mission, the salient feature extraction method and active revisit patch planning method are validated to improve the accuracy of pose estimation.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of a robot for surveillance able to move in structured and unstructured environments and able to overcome obstacles with high energetic efficiency.

The proposed Epi.q‐TG hybrid robot combines wheeled and legged locomotion. It is equipped with four three‐wheeled locomotion units; traction is generated by the two forecarriage units, while the two rear ones have same geometry but are idle. Each front unit is actuated by a single motor with the interposition of an epicyclical gearing, accurately designed in order to suitably switch between wheeled and legged motion. The robot changes locomotion mode from rolling on wheels (advancing mode) to stepping on legs (automatic climbing mode) according to local friction and dynamic conditions.

The experimental results confirm the design objectives. In advancing mode, the robot behaves like a four‐wheeled vehicle, with high speed and energetic efficiency. In automatic climbing mode, the robot can walk on uneven and soft terrains and overcome steps with remarkable height with respect to its dimensions (up to 84 per cent of the locomotion unit height).

Besides surveillance, Epi.q‐TG can be successfully used in many tasks in which it is useful to combine the advantages of wheeled and legged locomotion, e.g. unmanned inspection of nuclear and chemical sites, minesweeping, and intervention in disaster zones.

The core of the project is the epicyclical mechanism of the locomotion unit, which switches between advancing mode and automatic climbing mode without control action. This solution limits the control and actuation complexity and consequently the robot cost, widening the range of possible applications.

The purpose of this paper is to resolve the problem of the dynamic response performance of the driving control system for a six-wheeled planetary rover. An adaptive sliding mode controller based on an improved genetic algorithm (IGA) to tune PID sliding surface parameters was used in the driving control system of the planetary rover.

First, the mathematical model of planetary rover driving control is established. Second, according to sliding mode variable structure control, an equivalent controller and a disturbance controller are constructed to solve the problem of a multi-disturbance nonlinear driving control system of planetary rovers and an IGA is used to tune PID parameters.

Simulation results show that the proposed control algorithm improves the accuracy of the driving control system and optimizes the smoothness of rover motion control.

The controller based on the IGA to tune PID sliding surface parameters has good self-adaptability and real-time controllability for the control object which is difficult to present a precise mathematical model.

The advanced control method is adopted to solve the uncertainty and external interference of planetary rovers in a complex environment. The mathematical model of the six-wheeled rover is established as the control object and the uncertainty and external disturbance of the model are considered. The controller based on IGA has good adaptability and real-time performance and the control algorithm can be used to drive robots in complex environments.

The requirement to quickly obtain 3D measurements is common to a variety of tasks in different fields of applications, i.e. robotics, space craft rendezvous and docking scenarios and industrial assemblies. In this paper, a novel type of non‐scanning optical 3D laser camera is presented. This is useful for both space and industrial applications. Avoiding any moving mechanical parts, the new sensor is able to exceed the frame rate and lateral resolution limits of common scanning devices, while providing both a grey‐scale image and a dense range image of the scene at the same time.

The goal of this research has been to design and field test a multi‐use planetary rover vehicle. SCOUT has been developed to test advanced rover hardware and software technologies and to enable the development and demonstration of mission operations concepts applicable to future planetary rover vehicle development activities.

This paper presents a description of the SCOUT vehicle capabilities and the results of the remote field testing conducted recently in Meteor Crater, AZ. These tests included (among others) onboard driving by suited crewmembers, remote teleoperation, autonomous point‐to‐point navigation, obstacle avoidance, human tracking and following, gesture recognition and onboard suit‐recharge.

SCOUT was successfully tested in all three driving modes (onboard by two suited crewmembers, teleoperation and autonomous) and additional capabilities verified over the course of the testing period.

Various tests experienced periodic telemetry drop‐outs to the vehicle. Future research should improve upon the communications architecture to minimize the loading on system bandwidth.

A multi‐use planetary rover will prove very useful on future Lunar and Martian exploration missions on an assortment of activities. In addition to equipment transport, riding on the rover will allow crewmembers to cover more surface area while conserving important extravehicular activity suit consumables.

Several new concepts for rover technologies are presented here including on‐board suit recharge, stereo‐vision human tracking and following, gesture recognition and autonomous driving and navigation.

This paper aims to address some of the needs of present and upcoming rover designs, and introduces novel concepts incorporated in a planetary surface exploration rover design that is currently under development.

The Multitasking Rover (MTR) is a highly re‐configurable system that aims to demonstrate functionality that will cover many of the current and future needs such as rough‐terrain mobility, modularity and upgradeability. lt comprises a surface mobility platform which is highly re‐configurable, which offers centre of mass re‐allocation and rough terrain stability, and also a set of science/tool packs – individual sub‐systems encapsulated in packs which the rover picks up, transports and deploys.

Early testing of the suspension system suggests exceptional performance characteristics.

Principles employed in the design of the MTR can be used in future rover systems to reduce associated mission costs and at the same time provide multiples the functionality.

Describes the technological developments which are establishing the foundation for an exciting era of in situ exploration missions to planets, comets and asteroids with advanced robotic systems. Also outlines important concurrent terrestrial applications and spin offs of the space robotics technology. These include high‐precision robotic manipulators for microsurgical operations and dexterous arm control systems.

This study aims to find a feasible precise navigation model for the planed Lunar rover. Autonomous navigation is one of the most important missions in the Chinese Lunar exploration project. Machine vision is expected to be a promising option for this mission because of the dramatic development of an image processing technique. However, existing attempts are often subject to low accuracy and errors accumulation.

In this paper, a novel autonomous navigation model was developed, based on the rigid geometric and photogrammetric theory, including stereo perception, relative positioning and absolute adjustment. The first step was planned to detect accurate three-dimensional (3D) surroundings around the rover by matching stereo-paired images; the second was used to decide the local location and orientation changes of the rover by matching adjacent images; and the third was adopted to find the rover’s location in the whole scene by matching ground image with satellite image. Among them, the SURF algorithm that had been commonly believed as the best algorithm for matching images was adopted to find matched images.

Experiments indicated that the accurate 3D scene, relative positioning and absolute adjustment were easily generated and illustrated with the matching results. More importantly, the proposed algorithm is able to match images with great differences in illumination, scale and observation angle. All experiments and findings in this study proved that the proposed method could be an alternative navigation model for the planed Lunar rover.

With the matching results, an accurate 3D scene, relative positioning and absolute adjustment of rover can be easily generated. The whole test proves that the proposed method could be a feasible navigation model for the planed Lunar rover.