Autonomous Rover Traverse and Precise Arm Placement on Remotely Designated Targets
Michael Fleder, Issa A.D. Nesnas, Mihail Pivtoraiko, Alonzo Kelly, and Richard Volpe. Autonomous Rover Traverse and Precise Arm Placement on Remotely Designated Targets. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 2011.
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Abstract
Exploring planetary surfaces typically involves traversing challenging and unknown terrain and acquiring insitu measurements at designated locations using arm-mounted instruments. We present field results for a new implementation of an autonomous capability that enables a rover to traverse and precisely place an arm-mounted instrument on remote targets. Using point-and-click mouse commands, a scientist designates targets in the initial imagery acquired from the rover's mast cameras. The rover then autonomously traverses the rocky terrain for a distance of 10-15 m, tracks the target(s) of interest during the traverse, positions itself for approaching the target, and then precisely places an arm-mounted instrument within 2-3 cm from the originally designated target. The rover proceeds to acquire science measurements with the instrument. This work advances what has been previously developed and integrated on the Mars Exploration Rovers by using algorithms that are capable of traversing more rock-dense terrains, enabling tight thread-the-needle maneuvers. We integrated these algorithms on the newly refurbished Athena Mars research rover and fielded them in the JPL Mars Yard. We conducted 43 runs with targets at distances ranging from 5 m to 15 m and achieved a success rate of 93 percent for placement of the instrument within 2-3 cm.
BibTeX
@INPROCEEDINGS{fleder_etal_icra11,
author = {Michael Fleder and Issa A.D. Nesnas and Mihail Pivtoraiko and Alonzo Kelly and Richard Volpe},
title = {Autonomous Rover Traverse and Precise Arm Placement on Remotely Designated Targets},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on Robotics and Automation},
year = {2011},
abstract = {Exploring planetary surfaces typically involves
traversing challenging and unknown terrain and
acquiring insitu measurements at designated
locations using arm-mounted instruments. We present
field results for a new implementation of an
autonomous capability that enables a rover to
traverse and precisely place an arm-mounted
instrument on remote targets. Using point-and-click
mouse commands, a scientist designates targets in
the initial imagery acquired from the rover's mast
cameras. The rover then autonomously traverses the
rocky terrain for a distance of 10-15 m, tracks
the target(s) of interest during the traverse,
positions itself for approaching the target, and
then precisely places an arm-mounted instrument
within 2-3 cm from the originally designated
target. The rover proceeds to acquire science
measurements with the instrument. This work advances
what has been previously developed and integrated on
the Mars Exploration Rovers by using algorithms that
are capable of traversing more rock-dense terrains,
enabling tight thread-the-needle maneuvers. We
integrated these algorithms on the newly refurbished
Athena Mars research rover and fielded them in the
JPL Mars Yard. We conducted 43 runs with targets at
distances ranging from 5 m to 15 m and achieved a
success rate of 93 percent for placement of the instrument
within 2-3 cm. },
bib2html_pubtype = {Refereed Conference Papers},
bib2html_rescat = {Mobile Manipulation},
doi = {10.1109/ICRA.2011.5980090}
}