Hopping path planning in uncertain environments for planetary explorations

ROBOMECH Journal

Kosuke Sakamoto¹  Takashi Kubota² 

[1] Department of Electrical Electronic and Communication Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, Bunkyo-ku, 112-8551, Tokyo, Japan;Institute of Space and Aeronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, 252-5210, Kanagawa, Japan;

关键词: Planetary exploration;    Path planning;    Hopping robot;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s40648-022-00219-7

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

Hopping robots, called hoppers, are expected to move on rough terrains, such as disaster areas or planetary environments. The uncertainties of the hopping locomotion in such environments are high, making path planning algorithms essential to traverse these uncertain environments. Planetary surface exploration requires to generate a path which minimises the risk of failure and maximises the information around the hopper. This paper newly proposes a hopping path planning algorithm for rough terrains locomotion. The proposed algorithm takes into account the motion uncertainties using Markov decision processes (MDPs), and generates paths corresponding to the terrain conditions, or the mission requirements, or both. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed route planning scheme in three cases as the rough terrain, sandy and hard ground environment, and non-smooth borders.

【 授权许可】

CC BY