Path planning and navigation framework for a planetary exploration rover using a laser range finder

Abstract

This chapter presents a path planning and navigation framework for a planetary exploration rover and its experimental tests at a Lunar/Martian analog site. The framework developed in this work employs a laser range finder (LRF) for terrain feature mapping. The path planning algorithm generates a feasible path based on a cost function consisting of terrain inclination, terrain roughness, and path length. A set of navigation commands for the rover is then computed from the generated path. The rover executes those navigation commands to reach a desired goal. In this paper, a terrain mapping technique that uses a LRF is described along with an introduction to a cylindrical coordinate digital elevation map (C2DEM). The gird-based path planning algorithm is also presented. Field experiments regarding the path planning and navigation that evaluate the feasibility of the framework developed in this work are reported. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014.