Operator Interface and Control Software for the Reconfigurable Surface System Tri-ATHLETE

Graphical operator interface methods have been developed for modular, reconfigurable articulated surface systems in general, and a specific instantiation thereof for JPL's Tri-ATHLETE. The All- Terrain Hex-Limbed Extra-Terrestrial Explorer Robot (ATHLETE) has six limbs with six kinematic degrees of freedom each. The core advancement of this work was the development of a novel set of algorithms for dynamically maintaining a reduced coordinate model of any connected assembly of robot modules.