Title :
An autonomous vehicle for space exploration
Author :
Zapata, Malcolm J. ; Haynes, William J. ; Kannen, Nicholas ; Sullivan, Megan ; Conrad, James M.
Author_Institution :
Univ. of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte
Abstract :
The goal of this project was to implement a mechanical hardware system capable of autonomous navigation and obstacle avoidance within any environment. The vehicle is capable of crossing relatively rough terrain while maintaining the main housing box level using an articulation arm which allows each set of left and right wheels to pivot independently around the central compartment. In order to survive in remote environments, the vehicle also has low power consumption. The vehicle also has the option of being remotely controlled for additional testing purposes.
Keywords :
aerospace control; artificial intelligence; collision avoidance; mobile robots; navigation; vehicles; articulation arm; autonomous navigation; autonomous vehicle; housing box level; low power consumption; mechanical hardware system; obstacle avoidance; remote environments; remotely controlled; space exploration; Global Positioning System; Infrared sensors; Machine vision; Mars; Mechanical sensors; Mobile robots; Navigation; Remotely operated vehicles; Space exploration; Space vehicles; Global Positioning System; Machine Vision; Mechanical Systems; Mobile Robots;
Conference_Titel :
Southeastcon, 2008. IEEE
Conference_Location :
Huntsville, AL
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-1883-1
Electronic_ISBN :
978-1-4244-1884-8
DOI :
10.1109/SECON.2008.4494246