Abstract
This paper presents a grouser developed for the wheels of lunar exploration rovers to measure sinkage. The wheels, which are intended to traverse loose soil such as lunar regolith, contain grousers that transfer thrust to the wheels and thus to the body of the rover. The interaction between the wheel (with grousers) and the loose soil can be described using a kinematic model. When traversing loose soil, the wheel sinks into the soil, which necessitates knowledge of the entrance angle needed in order to avoid this problem. If the entrance angle is known, the sinkage can be measured in real time before adverse conditions occur. Because of the importance and usefulness of detecting the entrance angle of the wheel, we herein propose a grouser with an embedded tactile sensor. A strain gauge on the surface of the grousers serves as the tactile sensor. In order to confirm the precision of the proposed grouser, we have performed tests on a rigid surface and loose soil surfaces.
Highlights
Robots are among the most important mission systems for planetary exploration
The proposed grouser with a tactile sensor is effective at determining the sinkage of the wheel in real time
We proposed a grouser with an incorporated strain gauge, which acts as a tactile sensor
Summary
Robots are among the most important mission systems for planetary exploration. The NASA Mars mission in 1997 utilized the micro robot Sojourner, which moved about and explored the surface of the planet, transmitting important data and detailed images of the Martian surface back to Earth [2]. In 2003, NASA/JPL sent Mars Exploration Rover (MER) to Mars (Figure 1), which transmitted important data [3]. The surface of the Moon, which is the subject of this study, is covered with regolith that is soft and slippery. This regolith, which is made up of fragments of rock
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