Predicting rover mobility on slopes from single wheel experiments

Lunar and Martian exploration have been active topics in engineering and scientific research for the past decades. With several upcoming international and commercial missions bringing new organizations to the Lunar surface, there is heightened interest in micro-rovers that can reduce mission costs and overall risk. Reduction of cost and risk is possible by predicting the mobility of a rover platform from the proposed wheel design. This research builds on previous predictive models and experimental works to explore the correlation between the single wheel and full rover mobility. The project seeks to develop a predictive model using experiments to relate single-wheel experiments and full rover performance on inclined terrain. Such a model will be useful to the partner organization when working with rover mobility tasks or projects.

Faculty Supervisor:

Krzysztof Skonieczny

Student:

Partner:

MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Inc (Brampton, ON)

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Manufacturing; Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

Concordia University

Program: