The mass of massive rover softwareA planetary rover, like a spacecraft, must be fully self contained. Once launched, a rover can only receive information from its designers, and if solar powered, power from the Sun. As the distance from Earth increases, and the demands for power on the rover increase, there is a serious tradeoff between communication and computation. Both of these subsystems are very power hungry, and both can be the major driver of the rover's power subsystem, and therefore the minimum mass and size of the rover. This situation and software techniques that can be used to reduce the requirements on both communication and computation, allowing the overall robot mass to be greatly reduced, are discussed.
Document ID
19940018937
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Miller, David P. (Massachusetts Inst. of Tech. Cambridge, MA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 16, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1993
Publication Information
Publication: CNES, Missions, Technologies, and Design of Planetary Mobile Vehicles