TY - GEN
T1 - Evaluation of influence of surface shape of wheel on traveling performance of planetary rovers over slope
AU - Sutoh, Masataku
AU - Nagatani, Keiji
AU - Yoshida, Kazuya
PY - 2011/12/1
Y1 - 2011/12/1
N2 - Planetary rovers play a significant role in lunar and Martian surface explorations. However, because of wheel slippage, the wheels of planetary rovers can get stuck in loose soil, causing the exploration mission to fail. To avoid slippage and increase the drawbar pull, the wheels of planetary rovers typically have lugs (i.e., grousers) on their surface. Recent studies report that these lugs can substantially improve the travelling performances of planetary rovers. Therefore, in this study, we conducted experiments using lightweight two-wheeled rover testbeds in a sandbox to provide a quantitative confirmation of the influence of lugs on the travelling performances of planetary rovers. Based on our experimental results, we confirmed that although lugs have some effect on the travelling performances over gentle slopes, they have a greater effect on the travelling performances over steep slopes.
AB - Planetary rovers play a significant role in lunar and Martian surface explorations. However, because of wheel slippage, the wheels of planetary rovers can get stuck in loose soil, causing the exploration mission to fail. To avoid slippage and increase the drawbar pull, the wheels of planetary rovers typically have lugs (i.e., grousers) on their surface. Recent studies report that these lugs can substantially improve the travelling performances of planetary rovers. Therefore, in this study, we conducted experiments using lightweight two-wheeled rover testbeds in a sandbox to provide a quantitative confirmation of the influence of lugs on the travelling performances of planetary rovers. Based on our experimental results, we confirmed that although lugs have some effect on the travelling performances over gentle slopes, they have a greater effect on the travelling performances over steep slopes.
KW - Loose soil
KW - Planetary rover
KW - Wheel
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M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:84873365236
SN - 9781618395986
T3 - 17th International Conference of the International Society for Terrain Vehicle Systems 2011, ISTVS 2011
SP - 457
EP - 463
BT - 17th International Conference of the International Society for Terrain Vehicle Systems 2011, ISTVS 2011
T2 - 17th International Conference of the International Society for Terrain Vehicle Systems 2011, ISTVS 2011
Y2 - 18 November 2011 through 22 November 2011
ER -