TOWARDS AUTONOMOUS LONG-RANGE NAVIGATION

Abstract

The recent success of NASA’s Mars Exploration Rovers has demonstrated the important benefits that mobility adds to landed planetary exploration missions. The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has been conducting research in ground control and in autonomous robotics for several years already. One of the target applications is planetary exploration using mobile platforms. The emphasis of our research program is on reactive on-board autonomy software and long-range rover navigation. This paper describes recent activities of the CSA in this area. Key results are described in the areas of terrain modelling, path planning and rover guidance.