Apr 22, 2010

Mobility? We've Got it!

In this video our partner the Tohoku University Space Robotics Lab demonstrates the mobility of the El Dorado II rover on the test course at the 2009 IEEE ICRA Planetary Rover Challenge.

The El Dorado II rover was developed at the Space Robotics Lab under the leadership of professor Kazuya Yoshida and forms a fully functioning prototype of the mobility subsystem for the lunar rover in our Google Lunar X PRIZE (GLXP) mission.

The test begins with a simulated egress from a platform representing a lander. First the rover rotates on the spot (using the wheel pointing motors). Then it descends the egress ramp, which is at the same angle as on our GLXP lander.



The rest of the video shows the rover driving autonomously across the obstacle course to the far corner. Then it returns to the starting point, up the ramp once again. As it proceeds, the rover generates its own digital map of the environment.

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