The Robotics Institute

Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute

Copyright notice: This material is presented to ensure timely dissemination of scholarly and technical work. Copyright and all rights therein are retained by authors or by other copyright holders. All persons copying this information are expected to adhere to the terms and constraints invoked by each author's copyright. These works may not be reposted without the explicit permission of the copyright holder.

Abstract

This research considers the sun's motion and terrain in navigational planning. Robotic exploration of remote areas depends heavily on efficient use of power resources. An orbital ephemeris and terrain data are incorporated into a robotic planner to predict shadowing and solar power generation. The simulation and evaluation of coverage patterns are described, as well as searches for continually sunlit paths or for nearby locations suitable for recharging or communicating with Earth. Aspects of the research were implemented as part of the Robotic Antarctic Meteorite Search project, for which simulations and field test results are given.

Notes

Associated Center(s) / Consortia: Space Robotics Initiative and Field Robotics Center

Associated Project(s): Robotic Antarctic Meteorite Search

Number of pages: 6

Text Reference

Kimberly Shillcutt and William (Red) L. Whittaker, "Solar Navigational Planning for Robotic Explorers," 2001 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, May, 2001, pp. 1421 - 1426.

BibTeX Reference

@inproceedings{Shillcutt_2001_3996,
   author = "Kimberly Shillcutt and William (Red) L. Whittaker",
   title = "Solar Navigational Planning for Robotic Explorers",
   booktitle = "2001 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation",
   pages = "1421 - 1426",
   month = "May",
   year = "2001",
   volume = "2",
}

The Robotics Institute

Menu