Abstract:
The soil on the Mars is loose, which can not stand a large traction force of the Martian rovers. The inching locomotion is an effective method for striding over sinkages and steep slopes on the loose Martian surface. Setting a reasonable inching locomotion to achieve the coordinate motion is a crucial problem to make the rover behave best. Based on the wheel-terrain mechanics theory, advanced by Bekker et al., the force of the whole rover inching locomotion is analyzed. By establishing the kinematics model of the rover and analyzing the coordinate motion between joints, a coordinate motion scheme is advanced. The scheme is verified by the prototype rover test. Some suggestions are made for the coordinate motion of the inching locomotion.