Equivalent Acceleration Imitation for Single Wheel of Manned Lunar Rover by Varying Torque on Earth

Abstract

Owing to different gravities, the same manned lunar rover shows different acceleration properties on the earth and the moon; therefore, it is of great significance for astronauts to be trained on the earth under the condition of the acceleration properties found on the moon. In this article, a novel acceleration imitation method focused on a single wheel is proposed to obtain equivalent acceleration when using the same acceleration driver input under different gravities, and the acceleration imitation algorithm is derived based on a mechanical model of a special metal wheel with a mesh surface. To reduce the complexity and improve the real-time properties of the algorithm, a fitting function for the imitation torque ratio is proposed to adjust the relationship between the acceleration driver input and the driving torque of the wheel. Finally, experiments were conducted to verify the acceleration imitation algorithm, and the results revealed that the wheel with an imitation torque ratio could effectively approximate on the earth the same acceleration experienced by a single wheel of a manned lunar rover on the moon, given equivalent acceleration driver inputs.