Design methodology, synthesis, and control strategy of the high-speed planetary rover

Abstract

The planned missions to explore the surfaces of the Moon and Mars require high exploration efficiency, thus imposing new demands on the mobility system of planetary rovers. In this paper, a design method for a high-speed planetary rover (HPR) is proposed, and the representative configurations are modeled and simulated. First, the influence of the planetary surface environment on the design of HPRs is analyzed, and the design factors for HPRs are determined by studying a single-wheel suspension. Second, a design methodology for HPRs is proposed. The adaptive suspension mechanisms of a four-wheeled rover are synthesized using the all-wheel-attachment condition and position and orientation characteristics theory, which are expressed in the form of a graph theory for the increase in elastic components and active joints. Finally, a dynamic model is built, and a simulation is carried out for the proposed rover. The validity of the proposed method and rover is verified, thus highlighting their potential application in future planetary exploration.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

design methodology / spectrum analysis / high-speed / planetary rover / type synthesis

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