Project description
Rover exploration with autonomous decision-making
Exploring unknown and hostile environments poses significant challenges for traditional rover systems. In this context, the EU-funded ADE project will develop an autonomous system capable of making critical decisions on the go. Its objective is to enhance data collection and enable autonomous long traverse surface exploration. By combining reliable navigation, consistent data detection, and autonomous decision-making capabilities, the ADE rover system will strive to ensure fast reactions, mission reliability, and optimal resource exploitation. Crucial to its success is the integration of the Autonomous Decision-Making Module, which autonomously modifies the rover’s plan when encountering interesting features or environmental hazards while adhering to system constraints and available resources. The project promises breakthroughs for future exploration rovers, radically increasing their global performances.
Objective
ADE (Autonomous DEcision making) objective is develop and test in a representative analogue a rover system suitable to increase data collection, perform autonomous long traverse surface exploration, guarantee fast reaction, mission reliability, and optimal exploitation of resources. ADE specific objectives (WP full coverage):
- Autonomous long range navigation with high reliability. The ADE rover guidance receives a goal location. It is in charge of planning and executing a safe and efficient route to this goal. It locally re-plan to visit new local goals, enabling the ADE to seize scientific opportunities.
- Consistent data detection / avoiding un-detection of interesting data. Interesting environmental features will be detected by the Opportunistic Science agents. ADE includes two instruments that will generate observation conflicts to be solved by ADAM.
- Autonomous decision making capabilities (E4) in presence of conflicts. Key components of ADE is ADAM, Autonomous decision making Module. It is based on the tight integration/update of robotic technologies including the outputs of OG1-OG4. It will autonomously and safely modify the rover nominal plan in case of identification of interesting feature /environmental hazards in compliance with system constraints, on-board resources and temporal restrictions.
- Demonstration in a representative environment. ADE will be tested in incremental manner till full representative analogue. Its components, ADAM and the ADE avionic, represent a step ahead in technologies applicable to multiple scenarios. The ADE demonstrator represents a breakthrough wrt the way rovers will explore unknown hostile environments, both in space and on Earth. OG10 will maintain OG2.
- Dissemination/communication & Exploitation. Dedicated Plans are elaborated inc. direct consultation with stakeholders.
- Collaboration/harmonization with other Call 2 OGs teams. Through the I/F Engineer. The ADE team is open to share developments in common element
Fields of science
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesartificial intelligence
- engineering and technologymechanical engineeringvehicle engineeringaerospace engineering
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringroboticsautonomous robots
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinator
28760 Tres Cantos
Spain