Pan/Tilt-Unit as a perception module for extra-terrestrial vehicle and landing systems

Abstract

In this paper the development of a space qualifiable pan-tilt unit (PTU) is presented. This modular hardware is based on several sub modules, such as the motor modules from DEXHAND and the electronic components from DEXHAND and MASCOT. This strategy of reusing hardware modules is in line with the overall space module development strategies of German Aerospace Center Robotics and Mechatronics Center (DLR-RMC). The main purpose of the PTU development is to provide light weight mechanics to enable the use of different camera heads with different sensors suitable to the target application scenarios. In addition, this development is aimed for space applications with special requirements for radiation shielding, temperature and shock and vibration resistance. The pan-tilt (PT) prototype is particularly developed for autonomous driving and navigation of small rover vehicles for extra-terrestrial exploration, such as the Autonomy Payload Experiment (APE) on the Mobile Payload Element (MPE) rover [24]. This paper describes the overall concept and development of the mechanism, and thepossible relevant project implementations.