Development Environment for Optimized Locomotion System of Planetary Rovers

This paper addresses the first steps that have been undergone to set up the development environment w.r.t. optimization and to modelling and simulation of the overall dynamics of the rover driving behaviour under all critical surface terrains, like soft and hard soils, slippage, bulldozing effect and digging in soft soil. Optimization is based on MOPS (Multi-Objective Parameter Synthesis), that is capable of handling several objective functions such as mass reduction, motor power reduction, increase of traction forces, rover stability guarantee, and more. The tool interferes with Matlab/Simulink and with Modelica/Dymola for dynamics model implementation. For modelling and simulation of the overall rover dynamics and terramechanical behaviour in all kind of soils we apply a Matlab based tool that takes advantage of the multibody dynamics tool Simpack. First results of very promising rover optimizations 6 wheels are presented that improve ExoMars rover type wheel suspension systems. Performance of driveability behaviour in different soils is presented as well. The next steps are discussed in order to achieve the planned overall development environment.