ENDURANCE -A Multi-Functional Unmanned Exploratory Rover

Project Title

ENDURANCE -A Multi-Functional Unmanned Exploratory Rover

Project Area of Specialization RoboticsProject Summary

1. Problem statement:

Landing spacecraft can observe the surface of the planet in detail, but these observations are limited to a small area. To cover a larger area, spacecraft can carry robots that can roam the surface. Robotic rovers provide not only mobility but also the ability to perform complex tasks and make intelligent and selective observations. The observations are made from a data collection that will be further analyzed on Earth, this takes time and patience and ultimately there is a likelihood of data loss during transmission.

1. Background information:

While we have yet to travel to Mars in person, we have sent multiple rovers to drive around and explore the Red Planet on our behalf. NASA has successfully landed five rovers on Mars since 1996, two of which are still operational today. These NASA missions have a variety of goals, but all of the rovers have been used to assess the potential for life in ancient habitats, including hunting for signs of liquid water on Mars. These rovers have evolved.

1. The methodology used to solve the problem:

The data loss during transmission will be reduced by making the rover autonomous. The autonomous rover will not have to be guided manually and wait for the commands, every time the rover has to move. It consists of 10 major components: Autonomous Driving model, Rock Analysis Model, CPU, Database, Sensor Interface, User Interface, Imaging Device, Data Collector, Actuator Interface, and Actuators.

1. Major findings:

The past rovers were sent to Mars to check out evidence of ancient life, microorganisms, and also the presence of water. Looking for evidence of habitability and organic carbon on Mars was the primary objective of these rovers. 

The rovers that were sent were manually controlled from the earth, if the rover had to move from one place to another it had to wait for the information sent from the earth which took at least 15 to 20 minutes and the distance between the two also caused data loss during transmission. Our approach to making the rover autonomous will be able to counter these problems. 

1. Conclusions:

The unique characteristics of  Mars rover operations require significant degrees of autonomy, resource limitations, and management of unexpected events. The rover has to be able to tough out the harsh conditions of the environment on Mars. 

For exploring Mars we have to make rovers independent enough so that they can explore the terrains and collects samples on their own with the minimum human interaction as much as possible. The Autonomous Rovers will help us achieve these goals in the future.

Project Objectives

Our aim is to design a robust autonomous rover that can perform independently over extended periods while achieving the mission and scientific goals. It will move around a surface having extreme conditions and gather samples such as images and videos of rocks to carry out research on it. In addition, it will help us to know whether the planet or surface is habitable or not. Rock analysis using Computer Vision is another objective of this project, it includes predicting the structure, and other physical properties of rocks which helps us to discover materials that are rarely found on earth.

Project Implementation Method

Our goal was to make this rover look as much like the genuine Mars Perseverance Rover as possible. We picked the Standard Tessellation Language (STL) files from DIY Mars Rover Perseverance Replica and 3D printed the components required. Then we assembled the components by following the guidelines mentioned on the above link. 

It has a rocker-bogie suspension system that allows the rover to go across uneven terrain and climb obstacles up to twice the diameter of the wheel while keeping all six wheels in contact with the ground at all times. Each wheel is powered by a separate DC motor that propels the rover forward or backward.

1. Components:

Following are the major hardware components of the rover:

• Arduino mega

• Kinect XBOX 360 camera

• Jetson Nano

• DC Motor 12V 37mm

• Digital Servo 25kg

• A4988 Stepper Driver

• Stepper Motor – NEMA 17

• DRV8871 DC Motor Driver 

1. Control System:

Two issues were addressed while designing the control mechanics of the rover. One is the direction in which corner wheels need to be pointed to move the rover smoothly while the other is how fast each motor is spinning (it is different when the rover is turning).

Individual steering servo motors are installed in each of the four corner wheels. The Ackermann steering geometry is being used to efficiently steer the rover and avoid tire sliding when traveling around a curve. This means that the inner steering wheels will have a greater angle than the outer wheels when turning. Simultaneously, the inner wheels will travel at a slower speed than the outer wheels.

1. Autonomous Drive:

Jetson Nano Developers Kit is used as a CPU brain of the rover. We are going to train an autonomous model using reinforcement learning techniques. Rover will sense the environment by capturing images and videos of the surrounding. A Kinect Xbox 360 camera is fitted at the front of the rover to capture real-time videos and images. These samples are used as an input to the autonomous model that predicts the future movements of the rover. For example, if an obstacle like a rock comes in front of the rover then it will calculate the distance and height of the rock using Kinect and then transfer this information to the autonomous model. The autonomous model will decide whether to move in the same direction or should change it directly.

Benefits of the Project

This project can be used in space explorations to take the most benefit from observations as real-time data analysis will help save time and the team can work on things other than observations and doing analysis on the environment of a particular planet. On the other hand, the path planning team will be at much ease as the rover will maneuver autonomously from one point to another. In short, this will help to focus on other major problems which haven't been solved as of yet.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

It will be able to achieve the following goals.

• A fully working terrestrial Rover capable of maneuvering around the required environment.
• To perform rock analysis during maneuvering from one point to another.

Final Deliverable of the Project Hardware SystemCore Industry ITOther IndustriesCore Technology RoboticsOther TechnologiesSustainable Development Goals Industry, Innovation and InfrastructureRequired Resources

Item Name	Type	No. of Units	Per Unit Cost (in Rs)	Total (in Rs)
			Total in (Rs)	69500
Nvidia Jetson Nano Developer Kit 4Gb	Equipment	1	20000	20000
Arduino Mega	Equipment	1	2300	2300
3D Printing	Equipment	1	47200	47200