Design and Power Management of a Wind-Solar-Powered Polar Rover

Abstract

A robotic rover harvesting energy from the wind and sun was designed to roam and supersede humans to complete scientific missions in Antarctica. Specific terrains, surface conditions, temperature, wind and solar availability, and wind resistance in Antarctica were taken into consideration. The rover needs to consume much more energy to travel than it harvests. A fuzzy logic approach in power management was developed to make improvements. Both the fuzzy approach and the simple approach were tested by using an energy simulator consisting of three parts: the energy harvest simulator, the power consumption simulator, and the power management module. Results showed that the fuzzy approach made the rover travel 296 % longer and 11 % farther than the simple approach did.