TRESSA: Teamed robots for exploration and science on steep areas

TLDR

Long‑duration robotic missions on lunar and planetary surfaces enable acquisition of scientific data from diverse sites and detailed exploration, and such missions involve both single robots and teams of robots. The goal is to develop robotic systems with enhanced mobility to explore varied terrain types, and this paper presents field demonstration results of the TRESSA system in challenging slopes. TRESSA is a closely coupled three‑robot team developed at JPL that can drive on soil‑covered slopes up to 70°. Field demonstrations showed TRESSA can traverse cliffs and rocky slopes up to 85°, perform semi‑autonomous science investigations with an integrated robotic arm, and collect samples at three Mars analog sites in Svalbard. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Abstract

Abstract Long‐duration robotic missions on lunar and planetary surfaces (for example, the Mars Exploration Rovers have operated continuously on the Martian surface for close to 3 years) provide the opportunity to acquire scientifically interesting information from a diverse set of surface and subsurface sites and to explore multiple sites in greater detail. Exploring a wide range of terrain types, including plains, cliffs, sand dunes, and lava tubes, requires the development of robotic systems with mobility enhanced beyond that which is currently fielded. These systems include single as well as teams of robots. TRESSA (Teamed Robots for Exploration and Science on Steep Areas) is a closely coupled three‐robot team developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) that previously demonstrated the ability to drive on soil‐covered slopes up to 70 deg. In this paper, we present results from field demonstrations of the TRESSA system in even more challenging terrain: rough rocky slopes of up to 85 deg. In addition, the integration of a robotic arm and instrument suite has allowed TRESSA to demonstrate semi‐autonomous science investigation of the cliffs and science sample collection. TRESSA successfully traversed cliffs and collected samples at three Mars analog sites in Svalbard, Norway as part of a recent geological and astrobiological field investigation called AMASE: Arctic Mars Analog Svalbard Expedition under the NASA ASTEP (Astrobiology Science and Technology for Exploring Planets) program. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.