Sensing position planning for lunar exploration rovers

In this paper, the authors present a novel criterion for path planning based on the visibility index caused by obstacles detected through laser range sensors when exploring lunar craters. The proposed path planning algorithm calculates an index based on terrain roughness, path length and occlusion, and determines the areas where obstacles may limit the visibility of the area where the rover must go next. The derivation of the visibility index is explained in detail and the algorithm steps are described throughly. Simulations were carried out in order to test the proposed algorithm and a results are presented.