• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.372-377
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• 2015

In this paper, the consideration factors that affect the actual driving of a rover wheel was examined based on the wheel-terrain model. For the evaluation of driving performance in a real environment, the test bed of the rover wheel consists of the driving part of the wheel and sensing part of the various parameters was designed and assembled. Using the test bed, the preliminary driving experiment concerning the slip ratio, sinkage, and friction force according to the rotational velocity and the shape of the wheel were carried out and evaluated. The wheel test bed and the experiment results are expected to contribute to finding the optimal result in the designing of the wheel shape and the planning of the driving conditions through further study.

• International Journal of Control, Automation, and Systems
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.343-353
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• 2004

This paper presents the survivability, mobility, and functionality of a rover as part of a radar system for polar regions. Rovers can provide autonomy and precision for radars used to measure ice thickness and other characteristics of ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica. These rovers can be used to move radar antennas in precise patterns for synthetic aperture radars while providing environmental protection and power to the onboard radar equipment. This paper describes the mobility, actuation, sensing, winterization, control, and virtual prototyping of a polar rover. The rover has been successfully tested in Greenland.

• International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.419-433
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• 2014

The Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity investigated plains at Meridiani Planum, where laminated sedimentary rocks are present. The Opportunity rover's Athena morphological investigation showed microstructures organized in intertwined filaments of microspherules: a texture we have also found on samples of terrestrial (biogenic) stromatolites and other microbialites. We performed a quantitative image analysis to compare images (n=45) of microbialites with the images (n=30) photographed by the rover (corresponding, approximately, to 25,000/15,000 microstructures). Contours were extracted and morphometric indexes were obtained: geometric and algorithmic complexities, entropy, tortuosity, minimum and maximum diameters. Terrestrial and Martian textures present a multifractal aspect. Mean values and confidence intervals from the Martian images overlapped perfectly with those from the terrestrial samples. The probability of this occurring by chance is $1/2^8$, less than p<0.004. Terrestrial abiogenic pseudostromatolites showed a simple fractal structure and different morphometric values from those of the terrestrial biogenic stromatolite images or Martian images with a less ordered texture (p<0.001). Our work shows the presumptive evidence of microbialites in the Martian outcroppings: i.e., the presence of unicellular life on the ancient Mars.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.403-412
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• 2016

Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars(CRISM) is 489-band hyperspectral camera of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter(MRO) that provided data used on many mineral researches over Martian surface. For the detection of minerals in planet, mineral index using a few spectral bands have been used. In this study, we applied Matched Filter and Adaptive Cosine Estimator(ACE) target detection algorithm on CRISM data over Gusev Crater: landing site of Spirit(Mars Exploration Rover A) to investigate its mineral distribution. As a result, olivine, pyroxene, magnetite, etc. is detected at Gusev Crater's Columbia Hills. These results are corresponding to the Spirit rover's field survey result. It is expected that hyperspectral target detection algorithms can be used as effective and easy to use method for the detection and mapping of surface minerals in planet.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.8
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• pp.1-7
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• 2019

When using conventional 3D image scanning methods, it is common for image scanning to be done manually, which is labor-intensive. Scanning a space made up of complicated equipment or scanning a narrow space that is difficult for the user to enter, is problematic, resulting in quality degradation due to the presence of shadow areas. This paper proposes a method to scan an image using a rover equipped with a scanner in areas where it is difficult for a person to enter. To control the scan path precisely, the 3D image remote scan automation method based on the rover move rule definition is described. Through the study, the user can automate the 3D scan plan in a desired manner by defining the rover scan path as the rule base.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.1-8
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• 2023

Space exploration is at the forefront of human scientific endeavors, and planetary exploration rovers play a critical role in studying planetary surfaces. Rover performance is especially vital for safely navigating steep terrain and delicate landscapes found on planets like Mars and the Moon. This paper offers a comprehensive overview of a landing testbed designed to simulate challenging extraterrestrial terrain and loose regolith. The paper briefly outlines lunar crater region topographical features and highlights the importance of these simulations in rover testing. It then explores previous landing testbed developments and describes the design process for a landing testbed to be installed in the dirty thermal vacuum chamber at the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology. Once realized, this proposed landing testbed will enable precise evaluations of rover mobility and exploration capabilities under lunar-like conditions, including high vacuum and extreme temperatures.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Surveying, Geodesy, Photogrammetry, and Cartography Conference
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• 2004.04a
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• pp.139-144
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• 2004

This study aims to analyze the accuracy of rover speed change in route surveying using RTK-GPS. Route surveying methods using GPS contain Static, DGPS, and RTK-GPS. Much research of navigation system, positioning of vehicles by DGPS, and accuracy analysis by GPS surveying have already been done. From this study, it is firstly found that DGPS is suitable for car navigation and sea navigation with an error of meter scale but not good for detailed construction, designing maps and updating GIS databases. Secondly, RTK-GPS can be used for managing gas pipes, water supply and drain pipes and fiber-optic cable that are needed to be controlled in a real time basis. Thirdly, since the accuracies of route surveying by RTK-GPS and DGPS are not correctly matched with the change of rover speed, the choice of route surveying method from those two should follow the need of accuracy fidelity Further study should focus on Cycle Slip problem and coordinate change problem in tunnel and mountainous areas.

• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• v.1 no.4
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• pp.455-469
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• 2014

High-precision autonomous localization technique is essential for future Mars rovers. This paper addresses an innovative integrated localization algorithm using a multiple information fusion approach. Firstly, the output of IMU is employed to construct the two-dimensional (2-D) dynamics equation of Mars rover. Secondly, radio beacon measurement and terrain image matching are considered as external measurements and included into the navigation filter to correct the inertial basis and drift. Then, extended Kalman filtering (EKF) algorithm is designed to estimate the position state of Mars rovers and suppress the measurement noise. Finally, the localization algorithm proposed in this paper is validated by computer simulation with different parameter sets.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.45 no.10
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• pp.836-843
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• 2017

In lunar exploration, the necessity of utilizing rover is verified by the examples of the Soviet Union and China and the similar Mars missions of the United States. In order to achieve the successful management of a lunar rover, a high precision navigation technique is required, and accordingly, high precision initial alignment is essential. Even though it is general to perform initial alignment in a steady state, a multiposition alignment technique is applied when high performance is needed. On the lunar surface, however, the performance of initial alignment decreases from that on Earth, and it cannot be improved by applying multiposition alignment method owing to certain constraints of lunar environment. In this paper, a sun sensor aided multiposition alignment technique is proposed. The measurement model for a sun vector is established, and its observability analysis is performed. The performance of the proposed algorithm is verified through computer simulations, and the results show the estimation performance is improved dramatically.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.479-486
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• 2018

In order to ensure reliable navigation performance of a lunar exploration rover, navigation algorithms using additional sensors such as inertial measurement units and cameras are essential on lunar surface in the absence of a global navigation satellite system. Unprecedentedly, Visual Odometry (VO) using a stereo camera has been successfully implemented at the US Mars rovers. In this paper, we estimate the 6-DOF pose of the lunar exploration rover from gray images of a lunar-like terrains. The proposed algorithm estimates relative pose of consecutive images by sparse image alignment based semi-direct VO. In order to overcome vulnerability to non-linearity of direct VO, we add adaptive motion prior weights calculated from a linear function of the previous pose to the optimization cost function. The proposed algorithm is verified in lunar-like terrain dataset recorded by Toronto University reflecting the characteristics of the actual lunar environment.