Dynamic Modelling and Navigation of an Autonomous Lunar Rover

The enticement of the moon has been strong since forever and humans are on the run to rise to the challenge. The idea of landing a rover on the lunar surface is a compelling possibility that humans ponder over. The existing generation of lunar rovers lean on the concept of semi-autonomy, which tends to pose challenges in the navigation domain. In this paper, a dynamic model along with a navigation system for a six-wheeled autonomous lunar rover has been proposed. The dynamic model described here is based on the bicycle model approach with the assumption of the rover having a planar motion. The navigation system proposed here is a combination of the A* algorithm and the Artificial Potential Fields algorithm. The proposed system has been analysed through experimental results and proves the efficacy of the proposed navigation algorithm.